In a statement yesterday, the Home Office said it would work with the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) on a “best practice guide to support staff in reporting these crimes”; strengthen existing laws and improve data sharing between retail businesses and the police.

The government said its crime and policing minister would also write to police chiefs “underscoring the importance of working closely with local businesses to tackle this issue and emphasising that the theft of goods valued up to £200 from a shop should be prosecuted as a criminal offence”.

Home secretary Priti Patel said: “As the daughter of shopkeepers, I know what a vital role they play within our communities and just how tirelessly they have worked during the coronavirus pandemic.”