The boss of Iceland has said his stores are reporting more instances of shoplifting as the cost of living crisis bites.

In an interview, he said that the UK Government had to use all the levers it had “because ultimately, it’s the consumer that will pay for it and it’ll be jobs that will pay for it as well”.

Iceland boss Richard Walker, whose company is based in Deeside, told Tom Newton Dunn on Talk TV’s The News Desk he also admitted he had seen a rise in the number of shoplifters, as people struggle to afford their weekly shop.

As inflation hit 10.1% today, Walker said customers who are on a tight budget of say £25 a week for food “notice every penny”.