Jez Daniels, a former police officer and firefighter who also served in the Royal Air Force, has spoken out about an incident in February 2022 at a Morrisons store in Rogerstone, Newport, which he believes was an example of racial profiling. Mr Daniels, who is black and was wearing a facemask as required by law at the time, said he was followed by staff after heading directly to the alcohol aisle. Feeling uncomfortable, he left his items in the aisle and attempted to leave the store but was confronted by the duty manager. The manager accused him of trying to shoplift and demanded he "get out."
Following a complaint to Morrisons’ head office, a wider investigation ensued. Mr Daniels was initially banned from all Morrisons stores in the UK. The supermarket chain stated that Mr Daniels had been "acting suspiciously" and that the ban was implemented as a "duty of care" to their staff. This ban was later lifted by a Morrisons chief as "a gesture of good will." The chief maintained that Morrisons had acted correctly in the interest of staff safety and had been justified in "taking action."
Mr Daniels, drawing on his background as a former officer and IT security consultant, made a GDPR request to access CCTV footage and staff statements from the incident. He reported that the staff statements contradicted each other. The store claimed he had tried to steal £200 worth of products, but Mr Daniels was not shown any CCTV evidence to support this claim. He maintains that the accusations and treatment were motivated by racial prejudice, asserting that Morrisons staff were "scared of me because I was a black man."
Morrisons did not respond to a request for comment at the time from the South Wales Argus, which first reported the story.
In light of this and other experiences of racism, Mr Daniels has written a memoir entitled Marked by Difference: A Personal Story of Facing Racism in the UK’s Police, Fire Service, and Society. The book has recently been published and offers a detailed account of Mr Daniels' lived experience of institutional racism within prominent UK public services. He describes structural inequalities and cultural barriers that ethnic minority individuals face in the police and fire services, recounting encounters with covert discrimination and overt acts of injustice.
Through candid storytelling, Marked by Difference addresses issues of race, identity, and institutional accountability in Britain, encouraging readers to reflect on cultural reform. The memoir is independently published and is available in paperback and digital formats through Amazon, Waterstones Online, and selected local bookshops.
Currently working as a cyber security consultant, Mr Daniels brings decades of first-hand experience and a passion for social justice to the conversation on race relations in the UK. The South Wales Argus is reporting on his story as it highlights ongoing challenges related to race and institutional response.
Source: Noah Wire Services