Attacks on shop workers will be made a separate criminal offense in a U-turn under pressure from campaigners.

The government previously said “further legislative reform” was not needed to address the “intolerable violence and abuse” faced by shop workers, arguing it was not “necessary or would be most effective”.

But Rishi Sunak has now announced that his government will amend the Criminal Justice Bill to introduce new offences.

He said: “I send this message to criminals who think they can get away with stealing from local businesses or abusing shop workers – whether they are serious organized crime gangs, repeat criminals or opportunistic thieves – they are subject to enough.

“Our local shops are the lifeblood of our communities and they must trade freely without the threat of crime or abuse.”

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The new offense carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison or an unlimited fine, the same penalty as the existing common assault offence.

Back in October, a parliamentary petition called for abuse or violence against retail workers to be made a separate criminal offence, but ministers said in response: “The government is committed to supporting hard-working retail workers who may be suffering The violence and abuse is intolerable, but we do not believe more legislative changes are needed or that would be most effective.”

Under the scheme, repeat offenders, including those who regularly shoplift, may also be forced to wear electronic tags.

The government is also proposing to pilot community sentencing measures with police forces to tackle high rates of shoplifting, and greater use of facial recognition technology to identify criminals wanted by police.

Judges already have the power to ban repeat offenders from certain shops under criminal behavior orders, with breaches punishable by up to five years in prison.

Earlier this year, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) published a report stating that incidents of violence and abuse against shop workers had increased by 50% between 2021/22 and 2022/23.

BRC chair Helen Dickinson welcomed the news and said “the voices of the three million people working in retail are finally being heard”.

“The impact of retail violence continues to worsen, with people facing racial abuse, sexual harassment, threatening behaviour, physical assault and threats of weapons, often linked to organized crime,” she said.

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But Labour’s shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, questioned why the government “took so long to act” and said its plan was a “pale imitation” of what Labor would do.

Labor launched its policy platform on Tuesday to “breathe new life” into the high street, pledging to tackle a 30% rise in shoplifting and anti-social behavior by allowing incidents of items worth less than £200 to be investigated. .

The party also wants to introduce banking hubs to tackle the decline in physical facilities and has pledged to replace business rates with a “business property tax”, saying it would level the playing field for online retailers.

Angela Rayner, the party’s deputy leader, said: “Our towns and cities are an untapped strength of the British economy.

“Yet there’s peeling paint, cracking sidewalks across the country, and people are not getting what they want when they come into town.

“The Tories’ chaos has cost the country dearly and every region is paying the price. Labor will use the full power of government to support our high streets and spark a decade of national renewal that communities deserve.”