Police investigation launched as 'Robin Hood' protesters 'raid' Chorlton M&S

An investigation is underway after protesters claimed they had 'raided' food from a Manchester branch of Marks & Spencer and given it away. An organisation called Everybody Eats UK has claimed responsibility for taking food from the M&S on Barlow Moor Road, in Chorlton, without paying.

The group then says members handed the food out to people who need it in the community, and to food banks. The group shared images on X (formerly Twitter) showing off their haul - including dried pasta, boxes of cereal, bananas, carrots, oat milk and a bag of Percy Pigs.

In one photo, two protesters are seen carrying a basket full of shopping down an alleyway off Barlow Moor Road. One of the protesters carrying the basket can be seen wearing a Robin Hood-style costume.

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Greater Manchester Police says enquiries are ongoing, but no arrests have been made so far. In posts on X last Sunday (April 14), the Everybody Eats UK group said: "Today we took food from an M&S in Manchester without paying for it.

"This food will now be distributed straight to people in the community as well as local food banks. We did this because the government and the corporations are doing next to nothing for food security.

"So we are doing this both to convince them to change that and to do our best to fill the gap until they do. We will keep replicating this all across the country until we no longer have to. We cannot sit by as we and our friends, our families, our neighbours starve."

A GMP spokesperson said: "At around 1.40pm on Sunday, April 14 2024, officers received reports of shoplifting at a store on Barlow Moor Road, Manchester. Enquiries are currently ongoing, but no arrests have been