industry focus
Citizen activists hit supermarkets
Activists launched a mass shoplifting spree across the UK in March targeting major supermarkets in several cities as part of disruption plan to 'liberate' produce.
Take Back Power, whose stated aim is to 'tax the rich to fix Britain', shared footage of activists stealing products from a Morrison's store in Exeter on Saturday 14th March, saying they planned on taking on stores in the capital later in the day.
The anti-capitalist group which describes itself as a non-violent civil resistance group, wrote on social media: "All the food we liberated this morning was delivered to food bank donation points, to go to the people who need it most".
"The CEO of Sainsbury's pays himself 239 times that of an ordinary full time employee in his company", the post continued.
"The super rich don't need a "magic money tree" when they freely pick the pockets of working people every single day. It's theft. Nothing more, nothing less".
The group said they had "redistributed food from supermarkets to local foodbanks across the country", beginning at around 8.30am and targeting supermarkets in Manchester, London, Exeter, and Truro.
Although the group said activists were confronted by security staff in Exeter and London, they state on their website that no arrests had been made.
When a national newspaper contacted police, they said officers in London found that activists had paid for the food, so no offences had been committed. The group told the Daily Mail this was not true.
A video posted by the group to social media had mixed responses, with some calling the protest "stealing" while others praised the group.
One person commented: "So essentially stealing then - yes this is exactly what it is.".
Another wrote: "On the one hand, fully agree that resources should be provided to those who need them, but filming employees and trying to get them on board is risking their jobs and therefore their access to resources".
"It's a neat publicity stunt with a valid message but you got to leave the employees out of it. They're not corporate".
The group had announced their plans to "paralyse" the capital back in January. They had previously made headlines with high-profile stunts including pouring manure onto the floor of The Ritz hotel in Mayfair and smearing custard on a case containing the Crown Jewels.
Organisers of the group told an open launch event that activists would "take over" high-end stores and raid food stores as part of a week of action in April.
Co-founder Arthur Clifton, 25, told more than 140 would-be activists who attended the launch the plans were part of a long-term aim for the "mass-mobilisation" of 10,000 supporters he hoped would carry out acts of "civil disobedience" at the 2029 election.
The group had gathered at the Quaker Meeting House in Westminster for what was billed as "non-violent direct action training".
