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Morrisons has been told it must immediately reinstate a hero store manager after he was “shamefully” sacked for tackling a prolific shoplifter. Sean Egan, 46, who worked at the store for 29 years, said the thief lashed out and spat at him after being confronted and restrained.

He was given the boot for not following the company’s “deter not detain” policy. Earlier this month a Waitrose employee was sacked under similar circumstances after he stopped a suspected shoplifter from stealing a bag of Easter eggs. But Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philip said he was “sick” of thugs being allowed to get away with such crimes, and called for Morrisons bosses to reinstate Mr Egan.

“Morrisons must immediately reinstate Sean Egan,” he posted on X.

“He rightly and bravely confronted an aggressive shoplifter

“Morrisons shamefully fired him – after 29 years service

“Retailers must support their staff who stand up against criminals

“I’m sick of criminals being allowed to do what they like and decent people like Sean getting penalised.”

Describing the incident at the Aldridge branch near Walsall, Mr Egan said: “He was very aggressive and spitting at me.

“As the store manager, I put myself in a position to protect my staff and customers.

“There’s a lot of pressure in retail to protect the product, to not lose money.”

Despite calling the police, the father was later investigated by Morrisons and ultimately sacked.

During his disciplinary hearing, Mr Egan, from Lanesfield in Wolverhampton, said he was told he would be dismissed on the grounds he didn’t follow the company’s deter-and-not-detain policy.

He said: “As part of the policy for me as the store manager, it is to escort him out the premises yet as I was doing so he was very aggressive and spitting at me.”

He added he had tried to remove the man from the store but he had been spat at again.

Mr Egan said: “I stepped forward and I flung my arm back – that was my instant reaction.

“I grabbed his arm to stop him from entering his bag to grab something, and then an altercation happened.

“My thought is, ‘I’ve got to stop this guy. I don’t know what he’s going to do, not only to me, but anybody else’.”

The former manager, who had worked for the supermarket since he was 17, said he is now struggling to find new employment and feels everything he had given to the company has been “attacked”.

Mr Egan said: “It’s difficult to get on with my normal life, it’s impacted my personal life – with my children, my partner and socially.

He added: “My last pay was in January, and we’re barely surviving.

“I’ve given so much to a business where I’ve actually lived for work… but it in that moment I felt like everything I had given was attacked.”

Morrisons said it could not comment on individual cases but a spokesperson said in a statement: “We are continuing to take wide-ranging action to address the threat of shoplifting or violence in our stores.

“The health and safety of all colleagues and customers is of paramount importance to Morrisons.

“We have very clear guidance, procedures and controls in place to protect our colleagues and customers from the risk of harm, which must be strictly followed.

“These include detailed procedures for handling shoplifting incidents, which are in place to protect both the colleague involved and surrounding colleagues and customers, and which seek to de-escalate and calmly control the situation.

“We will not ask colleagues to put themselves at risk.

“As a responsible employer, our focus is entirely on taking the correct action to ensure health and safety is maintained at all times.”

It comes after Walker Smith – an employee of 17 years – was fired after he “grabbed the bag” from a shoplifter at a Waitrose branch in Clapham Junction.