TBP’s new announcement comes after their two stunts in December 2025 (Image: FACEBOOK)
A pressure group that threw custard at the crown jewels is reportedly plotting mass shoplifting from a major supermarket in the coming months. Take Back Power (TBP), viewed as a descendant of Just Stop Oil (JSO), reportedly plans to steal food from Waitrose and redistribute it to those in need.
The newly formed activist group describes itself as a nonviolent civil resistance group. TBP’s meeting, attended by reporters from The Telegraph, comes after the group’s two stunts in December 2025. Four people smeared crumble and custard on the State Crown case at the Tower of London, and two activists wearing TBP t-shirts unveiled a sign which read: “Democracy has crumbled – tax the rich.” Members of the group also protested wealth inequality at the Ritz Hotel by unloading bags of manure under the hotel’s 25-foot Christmas tree.
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The group will be coming to London for a week in April to complete a « take-back » in Waitrose (Image: Getty)
TBP announced its plans for further disruption this spring at its formal launch on January 17, 2026. The meeting took place at Limehouse Town Hall in East London, with a crowd of approximately 200 people.
According to The Telegraph, Arthur Clifton, co-founder of TBP and a former prominent JSO activist, said the group’s first step would include a series of “take-backs”.
He reportedly said: “We have seen that food is locked behind skyrocketing prices. Less and less people can afford less and less food. » Mr Clifton said the aim is to take food to redistribute to the local community.
The former English literature student at Exeter University said the group will be coming to London for a week in April to complete a “massive take-back with 50 to 100 people just going in and clearing out a Waitrose.”
The group describes itself on its website as “ordinary people from all walks of life who believe that in order to fix Britain, we have to tax the rich” and has raised more than £57,000 so far, according to its fundraising page.
It intends to designate £26,000 to run public meetings and training in eight cities to “mobilise new people into action from January to March”. The activists have set a target of mobilising 10,000 people to the streets in the year of the 2029 election.
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The group also intends to cover other costs, including compensating new members who undertake actions and paying for their accommodation, travel costs, and equipment.
Zahra Ali, the 19-year-old who smeared crumble and custard on the Crown Jewels, also reportedly spoke at the meeting, describing the feeling at the time of her previous arrest as « euphoric ». She added: « It made me realise that being an action-taker is who I am. »
A spokesman for Waitrose said: « Our priority is to keep our employees, who are partners in our business, and our customers safe.
« Waitrose is employee-owned, and we do everything we can to return any profits to our partners, not external shareholders. So in targeting Waitrose, the group would be harming ordinary workers, the very people they claim to be helping.
“We’re proud of our quality, higher welfare and provenance – that’s why customers choose us.
« It would be ironic to target a business that’s run on democratic principles and tries to do the right thing.”
Express.co.uk has contacted TBP for comment.
