Iceland boss left furious as police scramble to shop three minutes after customer’s phoney racism accusation

Iceland's boss has been left furious as police officers scrambled to a shop within minutes of receiving a phoney racism accusation and handcuffed a staff member.

Sir Malcolm Walker, the founder of Iceland supermarkets, has accused the Metropolitan Police of operating a two-tier system after officers handcuffed one of his staff members within minutes of receiving a bogus racism complaint.

The billionaire entrepreneur revealed the incident occurred at his Enfield store in north London, where an Asian supervisor was detained by police who arrived just three minutes after a customer made a false allegation of racial abuse.

Sir Malcolm told the Mail on Sunday: "There is two-tier policing. It isn't just happening on the streets."

He said he felt compelled to speak publicly following the death of Henry Nowak, the 18-year-old student who was restrained by officers while dying after his killer falsely claimed racist abuse.

The confrontation began when the supervisor spotted a man removing milk bottles from a refrigerator, opening them and replacing them on the shelf.

Sir Malcolm explained: "The next thing the guy is on his phone claiming he has been racially abused."

Officers arrived within three minutes and immediately placed the employee in handcuffs before taking him to a police vehicle.

The staff member was held for approximately two to three hours before the matter was dropped entirely.

Sir Malcolm described the response as "madness" and questioned why police felt compelled to restrain and detain an employee based solely on an unsubstantiated accusation.

The Iceland founder painted a grim picture of the dangers facing retail workers on a daily basis.

"Every week we have reports of violence – members of staff being punched, threatened with a hypodermic needle or knife. It is out of control," he said.

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Sir Malcolm added that his employees often do not bother contacting police because it appears to make little difference.

"Violence against shop staff is rampant. Never in a million years would police be there in three minutes for that," he stated.

The contrast between the rapid response to the racism allegation and the apparent indifference to physical attacks on workers formed the crux of his complaint.

The Metropolitan Police rejected Sir Malcolm's characterisation of their response, stating: "We police London without fear or favour and strive to serve all communities equally. All operational decisions are grounded in legal principles."

The force confirmed that following the Enfield incident, a man in his 20s was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence.

Sir Malcolm's formal complaint about the handling of the situation was examined by both the Met and the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime.

However, the investigation concluded that his complaint was not upheld by either body.

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