Racial profiling: Black veteran's Morrisons ban over shoplifting allegations

An ex-police sergeant who was banned from every Morrisons store in the UK after being wrongly accused of shoplifting has called for an apology.

Jez Daniels believes he was “racially profiled” by staff, who accused him of acting suspiciously while buying rosé wine and chocolates at a shop in Newport.

He said he was wearing a face mask because of Covid restrictions at the time, adding: “They saw a black guy with his face covered up and assumed he must be here to steal.”

Morrisons said it did not want to comment.

Mr Daniels, an RAF veteran in his 40s, said he was now “very uncomfortable” in supermarkets.

It was in February 2022, during the Covid pandemic, that he was followed around the Morrisons store in Rogerstone, Newport.

“I was wearing a surgical-style face mask – in compliance with store policy, with Welsh government legislation as well,” Mr Daniels said.

He intended to buy wine, and chocolate for his children – but said he became aware of staff following him.

“I knew straight away that they decided I was a thief,” he said.

“I thought, OK, well, if I carry on with what I’m doing, the staff will realise I’m not trying to steal – and they’ll leave me alone.”

He then picked up some crisps, and said he even held his shopping bag open to show he was not trying to hide anything.

Mr Daniels, who served as a police officer in two forces, and was also a volunteer firefighter, said: “They cornered me in the aisle.

“They had staff either end – I started to fear for my safety.”

He decided to leave, which is when he was approached by a staff member who told him he was banned and to get out.

“I was very disappointed,” he added.

“To be blunt, I think it’s because they saw a black guy with his face covered up and then they just assumed he must be in here to steal.”

He contacted Morrisons’ head office, but said he felt “gaslit” by their response.

BBC Wales has seen an email from the company to Mr Daniels, which reads: “You are now no longer able to shop with us or enter a Morrisons store.

“The reason for this decision is due to your recent behaviour as observed in the store.”

In other documents seen by BBC Wales, a staff member described Mr Daniels as shouting “aggressive abusive words”.

Another employee said they became suspicious when he “entered the store without a basket or trolley”, and went “straight to the alcohol aisle”.

Mr Daniels said he was also accused of picking up £200-worth of spirits – something he denies.

“Since the Morrisons incident, I’ve spoken to a lot of people, white people,” he said.

“I’ve told them some of the things that Morrisons have said was suspicious – and they say ‘but I do that, I’ve never been stopped’.”

Mr Daniels runs a cybersecurity business from his office in Newport and counts the UK government among his clients.

He used his professional knowledge to make a Data Subject Access Request – this required the supermarket to provide CCTV footage and staff statements about him.

After watching the CCTV footage, Mr Daniels said he “felt vindicated”.

He said he had been starting to doubt his memory of what happened, but added: “The CCTV recordings matched my recollection of events, they did not show what Morrisons claimed.

“They did not show me being aggressive. They did not show me abandoning trolleys. They did not show me in possession of £200-worth of spirits.

“Even just talking about it now is triggering.”

Mr Daniels then confronted Morrisons with its own footage.

BBC Wales has seen an email from the company acknowledging “discrepancies in the statements provided by the store and what the CCTV footage shows” – but did not comment on allegations he took £200-worth of alcohol.

The email said “as a gesture of goodwill” it was lifting the ban, but it continued to accuse Mr Daniels of “acting suspiciously” and behaving aggressively.

It added there was “no racial motivation behind the complaint”, and a staff member denied being racist.

Mr Daniels said he now wants an apology and an acknowledgement what happened was wrong.

He said: “They insisted it was all my fault – what I would like now is recognition from Morrisons that their staff were wrong.”

He now tries to avoid supermarkets, with the incident leaving him feeling “anxious and fearful”.

“It’s just the whole supermarket environment, I’m very uncomfortable in it, so I do my shopping online,” he said.

Mr Daniels is so concerned about “consumer racial profiling” – where shoppers believe they are approached because of the colour of their skin – that he has taught his children “defensive techniques” to avoid being accused of shoplifting.

“It’s not a new phenomenon – I’ve lived here all my life,” he said.

“It’s only really in the last five years that the rest of society are starting to acknowledge it actually does exist.”