THE Apprentice star Thomas Skinner has defended his criminal past after trolls called him a “hypocrite” after witnessing a robbery in Greggs.
The entrepreneur, who took part on the BBC business show in 2019, told fans on Tuesday he had seen four people walk out of the shop with various items without paying for them.
Thomas Skinner has defended his criminal past at trolls called him a ‘hypocrite’[/caption]
The Apprentice witnessed people walking out of Greggs without paying for items[/caption]
Thomas was previously in trouble with the law over handling stolen goods[/caption]
He slammed the individuals for stealing while wearing designer gear – and furiously said “what’s happening” to the state of the country.
But some followers were quick to bring up Thomas‘ own criminal behaviour – including his arrest in 2011, prior to appearing on Lord Alan Sugar‘s show.
Thomas was previously in trouble with the law over handling stolen goods.
In 2011 he was sentenced in court after being charged with dishonestly handling 4,992 tubes of Body Shop cleansing gels worth nearly £40,000 and having 2,000 diazepam tablets.
When contacted, the BBC said it was aware of Thomas’s past mistakes as part of its extensive background checks, and that the conviction had been spent.
In response to fans calling him out, Thomas took to his X account to say that he’s made mistakes and owned them.
He wrote: “Still finding it mad that people are actually having a go at me on Twitter because I pointed out that Greggs got robbed whilst I was in there. And then bringing up my past. Yes I did get arrested when I was younger, in fact I get arrested several times. And been charged and paid the price for my convictions. I wrote a book about it.
“I never had my own bedroom at one point when I was younger and slept on a pull out bed on the floor.
“I never had any money or had anything given to me on a plate, yet I turned my life around. I go around schools/colleges/universities telling my story hoping I can inspire others.”
He continued: “I’m no hero. I’m just a hard worker. I’ve made mistakes, in fact more than most, who hasn’t made one? I now try to spread positivity. I’ve been stabbed when I was younger because of what I got up to and that’s why I try help with my knife crime campaign at my gym.
“People need to get in the real world and see that there is a problem in this country. And we can fix it if we stick together. Bosh.”
Earlier this week, Thomas claimed he saw multiple people walk into the bakery and walk out without paying.
He shared his account on social media, which read: “Greggs to buy two coffees and sausage rolls whilst out working this morning.
“Whilst in the que 4 separate people walked in the shop, helped themselves to sandwiches, drinks, snacks the lot!
“None of the staff seemed to care and I thought I ain’t gonna bother getting into an argument with someone over a ham and cheese baguette. I don’t know peoples finances, but what I did notice that every single one of them had brand new trainers on and one was even sporting a Moncler coat!
“What’s happened to this country and why do people feel like it’s okay to just take what they want. Sad to see; hope it is not also happening to small independent bakeries across the UK aswell. Greggs you had £12 in sales from myself but you must of had £40 worth of goods stolen in that short ten minutes. Bosh.”
Greggs replied asking Skinner to message them, to which he replied “Sad to think that this is what has happened in today’s society that we need security guards on bakeries in the UK.
“There are plenty of food banks in the Uk to help those who are actually struggling.
“Also creating more jobs with security guards can only be good for the local economy.
“I donate more than most to food banks, I don’t think the people stealing from your shops are necessarily doing it because they are starving; they are doing it because they know how easy it is and that they will never get in trouble.
“We need to invest in our local communities and create more jobs to help lower the crime rate.”
Thomas became an instant fan favourite and made it all the way to week nine.
