Black veteran wrongly called thief and banned from every Morrisons

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."

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.

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."