Watching the pockets of trouble break out across London and then England over the past few days has brought home to me the vulnerability of the retail sector in the face of mindless thuggery.

Watching the pockets of trouble break out across London and then England over the past few days has brought home to me the vulnerability of the retail sector in the face of mindless thuggery.

The nature of retail is to be open and welcoming. Shop fronts are wide and accessible. Staff seek out interaction with customers. Goods are on display for people to buy.

Sadly this means that when people intent on damage or theft target our stores, the price is high. Attacks on premises are terrifying for staff and heart-breaking for business owners who see their livelihoods go up in smoke.

Targeting local shops as an expression of anger and frustration is mindless. These criminal acts destroy community services, hurt local businesses and threaten people’s jobs. The first priority had to be an end to the violence, as we emphasised in our meeting with Home Secretary Theresa May on Tuesday afternoon. But it’s not just the immediate cost of damage and looting to the retail sector that is worrying, the long-term costs are of great concern.

Inevitably, some businesses attacked this week will never open their doors again. For retailers struggling to get by in the face of difficult trading conditions, lost business during forced closure or the cost of the excess on an insurance claim will push them over the edge.

It will be a victory for violence if the result of this week’s disturbances is more vacant shops and increasingly run-down high streets. To prevent this, banks need to offer good credit arrangements to affected businesses so as many as possible have a chance to refit and reopen. We’re looking to the insurance industry to ensure affordable cover remains available to retailers in the affected areas, and more widely.

Retailers, together with local people, will be anxious to repair damage. Shops that have had their windows smashed will replace them. Stores that have been raided will carry on welcoming in passers-by. And retailers will continue to offer thousands of young people each year their first job.

Retail employs about a million under-25s and the sector spends more on training per head than manufacturing. The challenge is how we ensure retail is properly valued, so anyone tempted to hurl a brick realises the loser is really themselves.

  • Stephen Robertson is director-general of the BRC