Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of abuse and assault of shopworkers during "Black Friday" sales, and of the adequacy of protections against such abuse and assault.

All acts of violence and abuse against retail staff are serious matters whenever and wherever they occur. All such incidents should be reported to the police and taken seriously, investigated and, where appropriate, the perpetrators taken through the courts and met with tough sentences.
At the national level, we are working with the police and the retail sector to identify what more can be done to prevent and respond to violence and abuse against retail staff, as part of the work of the National Retail Crime Steering Group. The Steering Group is jointly chaired by the Home Office and the British Retail Consortium.