UK British News Megathread - aka CWCissey's news thread

Otterly · Jul 26, 2023

Morethanabitfoolish said:
looks like Kier has seen your post on here about losing the Mumsnet vote.

There was a young man called starmer
Who took some advice from a farmer.,,
Etc.
He was all for self ID with no restrictions a bit ago. The man flip flops around towards whatever he thinks is most convenient at the time. I mean i loathe Corbyn as well, he’s a commie, but at least he’s got conviction. He can clearly see which way the wind is blowing on this one. Time for some back-pedalling. But the GRCs have been a disaster.
I know he’s got a few advisors who are more humble backgrounds (I have an ear in Westminster too, apparently (shock!) they had free school meals as if that’s some kind of social strata that’s an untouchable class… ) but there’s a big presence of the insane lefty progs too. Maybe he can find his balls and stand up to them, or maybe they’ll coup him and install someone more tranny friendly.
Which way will starmer fall off the fence? Find out next week, in the next instalment of Yes Minister..!

Clem Fandango · Jul 26, 2023

He appeared to go further when telling Nicky Campbell on Wednesday: “Firstly, a woman is an adult female, so let’s clear that one up.”

I love that he tried to breezily throw it out like this, as if we won't notice he's spent the last three years prevaricating on whether men can have cervixes and women can have a penis.

Literally the only reason he's doing this now is because he's whipped out his little abacus, looked at the focus group research and polls, and figured out that his idiotic stance was losing him more voters than it gained. Don't trust this spineless worm.

Morethanabitfoolish · Jul 26, 2023

Otterly said:
The man flip flops around towards whatever he thinks is most convenient at the time.

Clem Fandango said:
Literally the only reason he's doing this now is because he's whipped out his little abacus, looked at the focus group research and polls, and figured out that his idiotic stance was losing him more voters than it gained.

He's also hoping it's a good time to do it with the banking stuff distracting people. I would be unsurprised if other political parties are doing the same.

teriyakiburns · Jul 26, 2023

Otterly said:
Which way will starmer fall off the fence? Find out next week, in the next instalment of Yes Minister..!

For all they complain about milk snatcher thatcher, I've yet to see any labour manifesto promise to bring back milk for school kids. Starmer might even gain a significant boost if he said he was bringing it back.

Probably thinks it's racist, though.

I used to love scooping the cream out of the top of those little bottles.

Otterly · Jul 26, 2023

Morethanabitfoolish said:
He's also hoping it's a good time to do it with the banking stuff distracting people.

Labour have been sneering at farage and the unbanking victims too. The whole NatWest thing has been yet another show of how the supposedly tolerant left will take down anyone they disagree with, and how little they care for working people having banking denied.
Labour’s problem is that they want to be like the us democrats, and they’ve abandoned any pretence of being for the working class or making peoples lives better. They’re moving towards this American style of campaigning on ideology, things like trannies and woke nonsense and climate bashing and people just want the bins collected weekly, the potholes fixed, and the country to function.
People don’t give a shit about climate change, BLM or trannies. Most brits are tolerant of well behaved neighbours regardless of ethnicity. Its behaviour rheats bad they hate.
They want their kids to not be told about anal sex in primary school. They want to be paid a living wage. They want law and order. They want people in charge who don’t visibly hate them. They want the police to attend burglaries and patrol the beat, they want stability, calm and function. They are sick of an elite class asset stripping the place and laughing at them.
It’s not rocket surgery. They’re supposed to be governing, not ruling and pillaging. There’s no one to vote for who doesn’t seem to hate us all amd want to make our lives smaller poorer and more miserable.

Morethanabitfoolish · Jul 26, 2023

Otterly said:
Labour have been sneering at farage and the unbanking victims too. The whole NatWest thing has been yet another show of how the supposedly tolerant left will take down anyone they disagree with, and how little they care for working people having banking denied.
Labour’s problem is that they want to be like the us democrats, and they’ve abandoned any pretence of being for the working class or making peoples lives better. They’re moving towards this American style of campaigning on ideology, things like trannies and woke nonsense and climate bashing and people just want the bins collected weekly, the potholes fixed, and the country to function.
People don’t give a shit about climate change, BLM or trannies. Most brits are tolerant of well behaved neighbours regardless of ethnicity. Its behaviour rheats bad they hate.
They want their kids to not be told about anal sex in primary school. They want to be paid a living wage. They want law and order. They want people in charge who don’t visibly hate them. They want the police to attend burglaries and patrol the beat, they want stability, calm and function. They are sick of an elite class asset stripping the place and laughing at them.
It’s not rocket surgery. They’re supposed to be governing, not ruling and pillaging. There’s no one to vote for who doesn’t seem to hate us all amd want to make our lives smaller poorer and more miserable.

Oh I know, I saw all the Labour MPs who'd stayed utterly silent throughout it crawl out of the woodwork to bitch about how quickly the government acted. As you say, they epitomised the "no bad tactics only bad targets" that is their unofficial motto by doing so and it's a shame not enough will cotton on before the next election.

Private Eye was similarly smug thus week, dodging the Farage controversies save to gloat about him being unable to get a bank. I hope there's some serious course reversing next week but given their loathing of him and Brexit it's sadly unlikely.

100%. You saw it election before last when social media was abuzz trying to make people post who they voted for. They want entrapped blocks supporting them who daren't step out of line for fear of total social stigmatisation. Advantage we have is those diversity/sexuality/whatever other thing splits them apart from the majority blocks by and large in this country want exactly what you have stated. While we have a hefty amount of people who see the future being clinging onto identity politics they're not a majority. Shame they are not being given a voice and in stead the worst of them are propped up by the media, politicians and worse.

The part that's going to come to a head really soon is the policing by consent model is not designed to be sustainable this way. Once the majority of the public decide they are done it will stop working and there will be no way to fix it. I'm lucky enough to live in a relatively rural part of the country that will react to that largely by shrugging and actually locking their doors more often while also making extra effort to stay in touch with friends and family. My work in more urban areas I will simply start carrying something heavy and vaguely work related when I need to be in the office. City dwellers are likely to be worst off then with no hope of fixing it save for electing the sort of people who will make the current "right wing" look like Corbyn.

Rusty Metal Skull Gun · Jul 26, 2023

Funny how all this back-pedalling from Labour is a consequence of Sunak saying "no" to Sturgeon.

Transgenderism needs ten thousand yeses to prop it up, but only one no and it comes tumbling down.

Moja Zemlja · Jul 26, 2023

Clem Fandango said:
Literally the only reason he's doing this now is because he's whipped out his little abacus, looked at the focus group research and polls, and figured out that his idiotic stance was losing him more voters than it gained. Don't trust this spineless worm.

Its even funnier when you realise that this flip on the position of GRCs now puts him in opposition with Scottish Labour who supported the reform bill in Holyrood, I don't want to seem too optimistic but I'd be funny if Starmer ended up dying on the same hill as Sturgeon did.

Snekposter · Jul 26, 2023

Clem Fandango said:
Don't trust this spineless worm.

Spineless worm is a compliment IMO, considering Starmer has more in common with a wet sack of fresh manure than anything in the Animalia kingdom.

East_Clintwood · Jul 28, 2023

teriyakiburns said:
For all they complain about milk snatcher thatcher, I've yet to see any labour manifesto promise to bring back milk for school kids. Starmer might even gain a significant boost if he said he was bringing it back.

Bring back milk? Just a couple of weeks ago "#Sir Kid Starver" was trending on Twitter because he whipped Labour peers to abstain from a vote on a Lib Dem amendment to the Schools Bill, that would have given free school meals to all kids whose households are getting Universal Credit.

Morethanabitfoolish · Jul 28, 2023

Time for a bit of SNP news. Firstly a restrained source;

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-66312190

https://archive.ph/58zwo

First Minister Humza Yousaf has unveiled plans for citizenship and passports in an independent Scotland.
A new Scottish government paper sets out proposals on migrants' rights and freedom of movement in the event that the country leaves the union.
The prospectus is the fifth in the Building a New Scotland series, which was launched by former first minister Nicola Sturgeon last year.
Opposition MSPs have labelled the plans a waste of taxpayers' money.

Speaking at launch event in Edinburgh attended by "New Scots" including Ukrainian and Syrian refugees, Mr Yousaf said a move to a more "inclusive" Irish-style citizenship system would be beneficial morally and economically.
He told BBC Scotland it would address "barriers" facing those seeking citizenship and help to halt a decline in Scotland's working-age population.
The new paper, called Citizenship in an independent Scotland, proposes that Scotland would allow those born outside the country after independence to be automatically entitled to Scottish citizenship, if at least one of their parents is a Scottish citizen.

It also outlines the rights of British citizens to claim dual nationality at the point of independence and set out proposals to make it easier for those from overseas to apply for Scottish citizenship.
The paper proposes that Scotland would remain part of the Common Travel Area after independence, allowing British and Irish citizens to live and work in Scotland without restrictions, while Scottish citizens would retain those same rights in the UK and in Ireland.

The new prospectus was launched at a roundtable event in Edinburgh
The government claims that the Common Travel Area arrangements would mean there would be no new passport or immigration checks at any of Scotland's land, sea or air borders with the UK.
The first minister dismissed concerns about such an arrangement, pointing to EU member Ireland's current relationship with the UK under the Common Travel Area.
He added: "If Scotland has a really open, inclusive model of citizenship that allows people to come here to work, to be part of society, to contribute, why on earth would they want to move away from Scotland?"
Mr Yousaf insisted the Scottish government had spent a "fraction" of the £3 billion he said it spends every year on "mitigating the effects of Westminster austerity and the cost of living crisis".
"These papers are important because we were elected, of course, with a mandate for a referendum and to make that positive case for independence," the SNP leader said.

Scottish passport
According to the proposals, Scottish citizens would have the right to a Scottish passport, which they should be able to apply for and receive by the first day of independence.
The paper says that any valid UK passports would continue to be recognised in Scotland until their expiry date, stating it would not be a requirement of Scottish citizenship to hold a Scottish passport.
The passports, which would be a burgundy red colour, would follow EU standards for international travel documents and would be available in lengths of five years for children and ten years for adults, it is proposed.
The government reiterated its ambition for Scotland to rejoin the EU and set out how it proposes to safeguard the rights of EU citizens.
The document says their rights would be upheld in line with the protections of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement "until such time as they can exercise their reciprocal EU treaty rights to free movement in Scotland once again".

Mr Yousaf launched the new paper alongside Independence Minister Jamie Hepburn and Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater
Previous Building a New Scotland papers have discussed plans to set up a formal constitution and argued comparable independent countries to Scotland are "wealthier and fairer than the UK".
Other papers laid out economic proposals and said democracy can be "renewed" with independence.
In response to the latest prospectus launch, Scottish Labour constitution spokesperson Neil Bibby said the Scottish government was "distracted by its constitutional obsession".
Scottish Conservatives constitution spokesperson Donald Cameron said the publication was a "blatant misuse of public money and resources by the SNP".
Scottish Liberal Democrat communities spokesperson Willie Rennie also criticised the use of government time and money for something that "just isn't going to happen".
The paper was launched amid a dispute over Scottish government ministers using civil service staff to develop policy in reserved areas.
Cabinet Office minister Lucy Neville-Rolfe told the Lords this week that "sanctions" for Scottish ministers would be considered as part of a review of the Cabinet Manual, which codifies the conduct and operation of government and civil servants.
Labour peer George Foulkes suggested Scottish ministers could face financial penalties and told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland the UK "was never meant to be a union of equal partners".
But Robert Hazell, a professor of government and the constitution at University College London who was involved in compiling the Cabinet Manual, told BBC Scotland it was "perfectly proper" for civil servants to work on the Scottish government's agenda.
SNP MP Tommy Sheppard told BBC Scotland: "No unelected Lord or UK minister will dictate how our democratic institution operates."

On to slightly less restrained and more biased views;

https://archive.ph/bGt4B

Its popularity is plunging in the opinion polls, there has been a small avalanche of its MPs and MSPs throwing in the towel and deserting politics altogether and it is anxiously awaiting the results of a massive police investigation into its finances, involving its former leader, Nicola Sturgeon.
And yet, new leader Humza Yousaf’s recipe for winning back the SNP’s former voters is - wait, for it - a wholly ridiculous new citizenship label that will allow Scots to formally and officially tell others who they are after the long-heralded hope for transition to independence.
Can’t we do that already, we ask ourselves? Well, yes we can, he airily admits. But what’s required is an official designation, he believes, one that is recognised across international borders after Scotland breaks away from the rest of the United Kingdom.

He has not the foggiest idea of when - or indeed if - that might ever happen but because what is left of his activists need to know, at all times, what he’s doing to further their hearts’ desire for a separate Scotland. And this means he must continue to publish documents like Thursday’s nonsense.
In doing so it is a signal demonstration of two things: a desperate example of how he has lost touch with reality and now operates in a parallel universe to that where the rest of us reside. He presses on regardless, with such looney-tunes diversions even as the nation awaits decisions from Police Scotland on whether its former leader, Nicola Sturgeon, her husband Peter Murrell and former colleague Colin Beattie, are to face charges over the missing £600,000 from party’s coffers.
And further, that independence is the only issue that exercises his government.

Under his proposal, Scots would still be free to live or work in England after independence with no border controls, even if he ignored the fact such a decision would be for the UK Government.
Furthermore, he said Scottish citizens would be part of the “long-standing Common Travel Area” (CTA) that currently exists between the UK, Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man.
And warming to his theme, he said there was “no contradiction” between the SNP’s plans to encourage lots of foreign immigrants, signing up to free movement as part of EU membership and having an open border with England. Really? I think the English might have something to say about that.
Included in this mish-mash of wishful thinking that I bet never sees the light of day would be EU-style burgundy passports as well as British people resident in Scotland “at the point of independence” being automatically entitled to Scottish citizenship.
Of course, it wouldn’t be compulsory and everyone would be able to choose between Scottish and British citizenship. He was asked which he would go for and said he’d stick with remaining Scottish and probably wouldn’t go for British citizenship.
No offence meant, but that strange noise you’re hearing just now is most likely to be the sighs of relief at this news from true Brits everywhere.

Now for something different yet very Kiwi Farms familiar.

https://archive.ph/b2n9r

A trans woman who blasted a hotel spa for not giving her a key to a female changing room has sparked a furious row with critics including Sharron Davies.
Anne Coombes, 65, vented on Twitter that her day was 'spoilt' after finding she was unable to get her locker key to work in the female changing room of the four-star Mercure Hotel in Sheffield.
She alleged that a member of staff had 'assumed' that she wanted to use the unisex changing facilities and has since demanded that the worker is sent for gender sensitivity training.
Furious at being treated 'as if I am not a woman', she tweeted: 'I am so f*****g angry. I'm at the Mercure Hotel in Sheffield and I fancied using the swimming pool. I couldn't get my locker key to work on the ladies.
'Turns out the assistant had "assumed" I wanted the unisex changing room. With me dressed like this', sharing a picture of her in a blue skirt and top on Sunday.
She added: 'This is the first time anyone IRL (in real life) has treated me as if I am not a woman... decent people accept the rule of self identity. If in doubt then find a polite way to ask, don't assume'.
It is not clear whether Ms Coombes was staying as a guest at the hotel, but she said she later went back down to 'ask that the person in question is sent on a diversity, equality and inclusion course'.
Accor, the company which owns Mercure, has been approached for comment by MailOnline.
Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies, who is campaigning to keep biological men out of women's sports, responded to Ms Coombes' tweet, saying: 'You’re male, use the changing room with other males or at the very least the unisex changing room! Deciding you wanting to change where you want to change does NOT trump women & girls rights. Ps I don’t know a single female that would subject that level of discomfort on others'.

The trans woman replied: 'Sharron you know nothing about me, and all you know about the incident is what I have revealed. Don't presume to know things about me with no evidence. It shows an arrogance which is not becoming.'
TalkTV presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer also weighed in, tweeting: 'Yeah, sure, what all women and girls are looking for when they're naked in a changing room is a big angry man who demands to be in there with them because he's dressed as a woman. Uh huh.'

Ms Coombes tweets on Sunday went viral and the following day she said: 'I have been overwhelmed by the number of people who have gone out of their way to state their concern and offer their support whether virtual or real. Thank you to each and everyone of you, I value your standing up as an ally.
'And to all those people who weren't on my side, I'm sorry but I will continue to exist, I am not going away. It doesn't matter how much you lie about me I will still be here when you have run out of things to say'.
The response to her tweets have been mixed. One ally said: 'Sorry to hear this has happened to you Anne and also sorry for the abuse you have had to put up with. Standing with you'.
But one critic said: 'Why couldn't you use the unisex changing room if you know you make some women uncomfortable? How hard is that?'
It comes as women’s rights campaigners, including author JK Rowling, desperately try to stop public bodies and businesses replacing separate male and female toilets with gender neutral ones which are more welcoming to trans people.
From the National Trust to UK theatres and even the Houses of Parliament, proposals to install gender neutral toilets have been blasted as woke and dangerous.

It comes as women’s rights campaigners, including author JK Rowling, desperately try to stop public bodies and businesses replacing separate male and female toilets with gender neutral ones in an attempt to be more welcoming to trans people
In May, parents at Walsall Academy, near Wolverhampton, were left fearful that new gender neutral toilets would leave 11-year-olds sharing lavatories with 18-year-olds of the opposite gender.
There were reports of pupils recording each other in the toilets, while teenage girls were refusing to drink water because they were forced to wait until they were home before relieving themselves.
Meanwhile late last month, The Telegraph reported that a teenage boy was reportedly arrested over allegations that female pupils were sexually assaulted in the gender-neutral toilets at another secondary school in Essex.
In response, JK Rowling has warned that gender neutral toilets are sacrificing girls' 'safety, privacy and dignity'.

Now the next bit from here I am less sure on. Comments on Ovarit suggested the trans woman in question has something to do with swimming.

https://ovarit.com/o/GenderCritical/424877/trans-woman-sic-blasts-hotel-spa-for-not-giving-her-a-key-to-female-changing-roo

I can't find anything to support this easily. A person with the same name and around the same age was in a swimming contest laster year;

https://archive.ph/V5zbC

And it looks like they might be the same Anne Coombes involved with this swimming group based off location;

Either way here's the Twitter

https://twitter.com/AnneICoombes

...and yep, judge for a swimming competition.

https://twitter.com/AnneICoombes/status/1555504862657499138

https://web.archive.org/web/20220805130443/https://twitter.com/AnneICoombes/status/1555504862657499138

ロボ﹏§¤r﹏h¶rœ · Jul 28, 2023

'We're prisoners in our own home': Father and pregnant wife who were subjected to horrific 10-month ordeal by sword-wielding neighbour tell how authorities let him off with a 'slap on the wrist'

Archive

Victims claim Essex Police let them down after reporting incidents in Braintree

Firas El Hejjaji told to pay £1,500 compensation after admitting criminal damage

A young family subjected to a horrifying ordeal at the hands of a sword-wielding neighbour told how they have become 'prisoners in their own home' after suffering a ten-month campaign of terror.

The victims said they had been let down by police after reporting incidents of intimidation and threats made by neighbour Firas El Hejjaji, 29, since last August.

They handed officers a file of video evidence but said no action was taken before El Hejjaji was filmed trying to smash his way into their home in Braintree, Essex, with a 3ft sword.

One shocking video shows El Hejjaji raining down blow after blow on another neighbour in a row over parking while another shows him slashing around wildly with a machete near the family's home.

In the doorbell footage - which has been handed to MailOnline - El Hejjaji can be heard making threats against the couple.

In one he is heard saying: 'Oh, you're scared of the f****** f****** dagger c****.'

The husband, who we are not identifying, told MailOnline: 'We fear for our safety after a long-standing campaign of abuse.

'He didn't suddenly wake up one day and want to smash the house up with a sword. This has been going on for nearly a year since they moved in last August.

'We're always looking over our shoulders and have become prisoners in our own home.

'We have contacted police on numerous occasions and sent video evidence but we were told there was nothing they can do until someone comes to harm. It beggars belief.

'It's not just us. He even assaulted a neighbour in the street - hitting him about 15 times. We sent footage on that occasion but nothing came of it.

'It's like the police are encouraging him to do whatever he wants. They're saying "Go on Mate. Have another go if you want."'

Despite being arrested after the doorstep attack, El Hejjaji was back living next door to the family just 24 hours later after being simply fined for criminal damage.

El Hejjaji was ordered to pay £1,500 compensation when he admitted the offence at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, July 19.

The family - who include a heavily pregnant wife and young child - claim the taunts have continued after their neighbour was 'let off with a slap on the wrist'.

The family said police bizarrely told them a charge of possessing an offensive weapon was dropped as they ruled the object he used in the attack which caused more than £2,200 damage was a table leg.

The husband said: 'They took away a 3ft sword. I saw it in the back of the police car but they said that wasn't the weapon he used.

'The police rang us at 2am the day after the attack and said he was about to be released. That's when they came out saying they had reviewed the footage and had decided it was not the sword that was removed from the property that was used in the attack it was, in fact, a table leg.

'You can clearly see what it is in the video. It's metal not wood but he wasn't having any of it. It's unreal. We've been failed miserably. No agency has come to us about safeguarding or support since the attack.

'I've got a pregnant wife and child whose safety is involved but we've had nothing. The police have been around since but they went to their house to make a welfare check after his release.

'As the officer left he was saying 'make sure you lock your windows and doors.' Where was the welfare check for us? My pregnant wife? Not one phone call.

'It got so bad we had to leave our home for a few days. We can't take the risk he's going to try and harm us again.'

In other footage, El Hejjaji appears to spit on the family's drive. And another clip appears to show El Hejjaji flicking a lit cigarette at the neighbours' door.

Last week MailOnline reported how the family have been inundated with support since sharing the video.

Describing the attack the husband said: 'He went completely nuts and started attacking our home with a sword.

'Thank God we weren't in at the time but neighbours who saw it were terrified for our safety and for theirs too. His partner had to intervene to try to calm him down.

'Police were called immediately and we told them all about the background and they saw the footage of what he'd done - so when he was arrested and taken away we hoped and expected we'd never see him again.

'Instead it was barely 24 hours later before we were told he was back here. He'd just been fined. How can this not have been a more serious offence - affray perhaps - that might have attracted a longer sentence?

'He was waving a dangerous weapon round with real menace - how much more threatening could this be?'

The family have been in dialogue with their local MP, James Cleverly, who has contacted police over the case.

Essex Police said it was unable to comment at this stage as a formal complaint was being investigated.

An Essex Police spokesman said: 'We have a live complaint about our service. We are always saddened to hear if people are not happy with the service we provide and we will thoroughly investigate the concerns raised.'

AnOminous · Jul 28, 2023

ロボ﹏for﹏hire said:
'We're prisoners in our own home': Father and pregnant wife who were subjected to horrific 10-month ordeal by sword-wielding neighbour tell how authorities let him off with a 'slap on the wrist'

They're not useless faggots, they were just really busy with more serious crimes like someone calling a man "he" on the Internet.

Morethanabitfoolish · Jul 28, 2023

'The police rang us at 2am the day after the attack and said he was about to be released. That's when they came out saying they had reviewed the footage and had decided it was not the sword that was removed from the property that was used in the attack it was, in fact, a table leg.

The table leg

teriyakiburns · Jul 28, 2023

Morethanabitfoolish said:
The table leg

View attachment 5239589

The irony is, the fuckers shot a guy holding an actual table leg, once.

Morethanabitfoolish · Jul 28, 2023

teriyakiburns said:
The irony is, the fuckers shot a guy holding an actual table leg, once.

I believe you but post the article damnit! The British police thread if nothing else.

The one it made me think of was the one where the police pulled a fellow over and he near severed an officers hand. At which point the defending lawyer tried to claim it was all because of racism.

Whoopsie Daisy · Jul 28, 2023

'It's like the police are encouraging him to do whatever he wants. They're saying "Go on Mate. Have another go if you want."'

It's not 'like' that, it is exactly that. Non-whites are encouraged to act violently and know there will be no repercussions. Mizzy is a media plant and shill who is the leader of the BIPOC youth, encouraging and enabling others to do the same.

But don't take my word for it. Take the word of co-op from the BBC. The figures, just from the co-op alone, are shocking:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66323140

Co-op warns rising crime could create 'no-go' areas for shops

he Co-op has warned some communities could become "no-go" areas for shops due to soaring levels of retail crime.
The convenience store operator said crime in its outlets had hit record levels, increasing by more than one third over the past year.
There were about 1,000 cases of crime, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour in its shops every day in the six months to June, the chain said.
But it cited figures indicating police did not attend most retail crimes.
The Co-op said a Freedom of Information request had shown many police forces did not prioritise retail crime, with, on average, 71% of serious retail crime not responded to by police.
The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said forces were doing "everything possible to tackle offenders and support retailers in reducing shoplifting and attacks on retail staff".
But the Co-op called for an "urgent change" from the police and "for all forces to target repeat and prolific offenders to reverse the existing environment in many cities where criminal gangs operate, exempt from consequences".
Co-op Food managing director Matt Hood said retail crime was driven by "repeat and prolific offenders and, organised criminal gangs". In the worst cases, he said it could even be described as "looting".
He pointed to "horrific incidents of brazen and violent theft" in stores which left staff feeling "scared and threatened".

Steak, coffee and cheese tagged as shoplifting rises

Organised shoplifting on the rise, says Waitrose

Private policing booms amid rise in shoplifting

While the Co-op had "invested significantly" in security, he said "we need the police to play their part".
"Too often, forces fail to respond to desperate calls by our store teams, and criminals are operating in communities without any fear of consequences."
The Co-op said one of its stores in inner London was "looted" three times in one day. "This level of out-of-control crime is unsustainable and could even see some communities become a no-go area for local stores," it added.

'Terrifying'
One Co-op store manager in Leeds, David, said shoplifting had always been a problem but things had "really changed since the pandemic".
"It feels like these offenders can simply come in and take what they want - they live in our communities and do what they want, they steal your livelihood from you. They come in with bags, sacks or clothing which can conceal hundreds of pounds worth of stock - coffee, meat, spirits.
"They know the police don't have the resource or, simply can't attend quickly enough."
Zarah, a Co-op store manager in East London, said what was most frightening was when the criminals clambered over the kiosks and just tip the products into their bags.
"I have spent 20 years at Co-op, and it is worse now than ever before," she said.
"We call the police, and have been told to call '101'. It is being normalised, but colleagues are terrified, and their families are worried for them everyday they come into work."
Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman of the NPCC said police forces took any incident of violence "incredibly seriously", and would "prioritise our response where there is a risk to individuals".
"For these types of offences, police focus on targeting prolific offenders, organised crime networks, and ensuring effective prevention measures are in place."

'Dummy jars'
The Co-op figures show 175,000 instances of retail crime in the first six months of this year - a rise of 35% on the same time last year.
Earlier this year, data analysed by the BBC showed shoplifting offences had returned to pre-pandemic levels as the cost of living rose.

The figures showed that police forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland recorded nearly 33,000 incidents of shoplifting in March - 30.9% more than March 2022.
In an effort to clamp down on such theft, some stores have been limiting the number of items on shelves, others fit the likes of steaks and cheese with security tags and replace coffee with dummy jars.
The Co-op said it believed dummy packaging would only become a more "prevalent and familiar sight" in retailing.
The chain also uses interactive and remote monitored CCTV in store, issues body-worn cameras and communication headsets for store staff, and employs covert and non-covert guards.

'Viability at risk'
Co-op campaigns and public affairs director Paul Gerrard told 5 Live's Wake up to Money the company spends £40m a year on security measures, four times the national average for convenience stores.
He said the retailer was losing significant amounts of money. "This isn't [just] a ham sandwich and a bottle of milk."
He said one store in the West Country had "the same individual target our store stealing thousands of pounds worth of product every single week".
There were stores in many big cities where "the viability of the stores is being put at risk because of the activities of criminal gangs".
Such shops were challenging to run, he said, because of the cost of keeping them open.
The bill for security and the toll taken on staff who were afraid to come to work drove up the amount it cost to "operate safely" in those stores meaning they were not making any money.
If a store became "non-viable commercially" and had to close, it risked leaving a whole community in a retail "desert", he added.

[bonus lulz because i've just seen this article from 8 hours ago]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-66339687

Armed men use explosion to target Hanley Co-op ATM

Moja Zemlja · Jul 28, 2023

First Minister Humza Yousaf has unveiled plans for citizenship and passports in an independent Scotland.

I'm so sick of hearing the SNP bang on about Scottish independence and everyday I get closer to Hitchen's stance of just letting them go, then I remember the kind of retarded shit they'd do if independent and realise maybe the best course of action is keeping Scotland contained in the Union.

Armed men use explosion to target Hanley Co-op ATM

Clayheads have never been the smartest lot.

Vesperus · Jul 28, 2023

Morethanabitfoolish said:
I believe you but post the article damnit! The British police thread if nothing else.

Here you go. It was a while back...

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-123713/Gunman-shot-dead-police-carrying-table-leg-bag.html

Morethanabitfoolish · Jul 29, 2023

Moja Zemlja said:
I'm so sick of hearing the SNP bang on about Scottish independence and everyday I get closer to Hitchen's stance of just letting them go, then I remember the kind of retarded shit they'd do if independent and realise maybe the best course of action is keeping Scotland contained in the Union.

One of the big ones that was pointed out for this is they'd functionally have open borders and then allow anyone getting in to saunter over to England.
Yousaf's "tee hee" response to criticism was to ask why they would want to leave Scotland where they were welcomed to go to England. Sort of like why illegal immigrants from half of Africa are making their way to England from France, that would never happen.
I'd call him a duplicitous cunt but it's not like he's fooling anyone.

Vesperus said:
Here you go. It was a while back...

Thanks

UK British News Megathread - aka CWCissey's news thread

Primark Primarch

Can you hear me?

Bruh.

If a cow got the chance, he'd eat you!

Primark Primarch

Bruh.

i vill not move out of ze vay

Today we're on .onion, tomorrow who knows where.

Year of the Snek

Bruh.

Scottish passport​

​

A Kingdom For A Lolcow

'We're prisoners in our own home': Father and pregnant wife who were subjected to horrific 10-month ordeal by sword-wielding neighbour tell how authorities let him off with a 'slap on the wrist'​

SOMEBODY SET UP US THE BOMB

Bruh.

If a cow got the chance, he'd eat you!

Bruh.

Ask me about how teen boys deserve to be molested

Co-op warns rising crime could create 'no-go' areas for shops​

'Terrifying'​

'Dummy jars'​

'Viability at risk'​

Armed men use explosion to target Hanley Co-op ATM​

Today we're on .onion, tomorrow who knows where.

Armed men use explosion to target Hanley Co-op ATM​

Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius.

Bruh.

Scottish passport

'We're prisoners in our own home': Father and pregnant wife who were subjected to horrific 10-month ordeal by sword-wielding neighbour tell how authorities let him off with a 'slap on the wrist'

Co-op warns rising crime could create 'no-go' areas for shops

'Terrifying'

'Dummy jars'

'Viability at risk'

Armed men use explosion to target Hanley Co-op ATM

Armed men use explosion to target Hanley Co-op ATM