Mr Murphy urged supermarket customers not to put themselves at risk. Photo: PARSONS MEDIA/REUTERS
Tesco has rejected calls from a government minister for members of the public to arrest shoplifters, with chief executive Ken Murphy urging customers not to put themselves in danger.
Police Minister Chris Philp said earlier this week that The public should arrest citizens if they witness a shoplifting that has already occurred. Their numbers have been rising on UK high streets in the past year.
Tesco is among the UK retailers worst hit by a rise in thefts, although Mr Murphy said he did not want staff or customers to «get hurt» by trying to stop the thieves themselves.
The supermarket recently said it staff have been given body cameras in an attempt to stop criminals.
Philp's announcement was made at a side event at the Conservative Party conference on Tuesday.
He said: «The general public does have the power to arrest citizens and where it is safe to do so I would recommend using this because if you do that you are simply allowing people to come in, take things and leave without a proper summons, including potentially this is a physical problem, but again it will only get worse.
“Although I want faster and better police response, the police cannot be everywhere all the time.”
Q In response d Mr Murphy said: «While I welcome the minister's views, we have made it clear to our colleagues and clients that we absolutely do not want them to put themselves at risk.»
Tesco's chief executive spoke as part of the company's latest results on Wednesday, during which he hailed a decline in food price inflation.
The supermarket said it had cut prices on around 2,500 products across its stores since launch. this year, with cheese, yoghurt and milk among the biggest fallers.
Mr Murphy said the UK's biggest supermarket would take «any opportunity to cut prices» in the run-up to Christmas.
p>Tesco said it now expects full-year profit to be between £2.6bn and £2.7bn, having previously forecast it would remain at around £2.5bn.
The rise drove Tesco's share price up 4%, with rival Sainsbury's shares also up 2%.
Mr Murphy said: «We think our customers are probably a little more optimistic than in the past once».
This follows an audit of grocers earlier this year over claims they failed to reduce costs for shoppers.
Competition & The Markets Authority launched an investigation into the claims but found no evidence of speculation.
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Price inflation, Tesco boss says food prices will continue to decline, easing pressure on buyers.
CEO Ken Murphy said prices were slowing among products that have seen «some of the sharpest cost increases in recent memory.» 18 months», including dairy products and pasta.
His comments came after Tesco announced a surge in sales after attracting customers from «premium retailers».
Sales Tesco, excluding VAT and fuel, rose 8.9% to £30.8bn in the six months to August compared with the same period last year.
Operating profit, meanwhile, rose 14% to £1.5 billion worldwide. groups for half a year.
Mr Murphy said: «Over the last six months we have seen a gradual decline in inflation, which gives you a clear indication that our suppliers are working closely with us to try and reduce costs.
«There are several areas now , where we are still seeing some inflation, such as chicken and potatoes, but overall we are seeing deflation and hope it continues into the second half of the year.»
Tesco said on Wednesday it now expects adjusted retail operating profit to be between £2.6bn and £2.7bn for the year.
The company had previously forecast it would remain broadly flat, at around £2.5 billion.
Mr Murphy said: “We are committed to doing everything we can to reduce food bills and Tesco is now consistently the cheapest full-range grocery store.”< /p>
» This relentless focus on customers, coupled with significant cost reductions through our 'save to invest' program, enabled us to perform well in the first half.
«Food inflation fell during this half of the year, and although external pressure remains, we expect this to continue to do so in the second half of the year.
“We are in a strong position to continue to invest in customers and will continue to reduce prices wherever we can “We're doing everything we can to make sure customers have a fantastic, affordable Christmas when they shop at Tesco.”
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