The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), which has been consulted on the issue by the Sentencing Guidelines Council, says it's concerned about plans to drop custodial sentences for persistent offenders.

Spokesman David Croucher said:

"We literally cannot afford to go soft on crime against businesses.

"The proposal to remove the custodial sentence for repeat shoplifters sends out the wrong message to both businesses and criminals, and we believe that it must be dropped."