Nose Picking GB News Producer Fined By Council
Enforcement officers say he was littering on Uxbridge Road
Alex McLeod (left) and the Fixed Penalty Notice he received
. Picture: GB News
March 26, 2024
Many people in Ealing see the local council’s enforcement officers as bogeymen but for one man recently this appears to have been all too literally true.
22-year-old Alex McLeod, who works as a producer for GB News, says this Sunday (24 March) he was walking on the Uxbridge Road towards Ealing Broadway station on his way to work when he picked his nose and dropped the mucus on the floor.
Shortly afterwards he was approached by two of the borough’s enforcement officers who accused him of littering. It is not clear from his account whether or not the mucus was contained in a tissue.
He told GB News, “At first, I thought this was a joke and they were bored at being made to patrol the streets of Ealing this early on a Sunday morning so I laughed along and thought they were having me on.
“It quickly became apparent that they were not in fact joking.”
When he walked away they followed him for a short distance and said they were about to call the police.
Initially, he says he refused to pay the £150 Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) and didn’t give the officers his personal details. However, he then describes them as becoming ‘irate’ and 'insistent' so he agreed to give his address and date of birth to avoid the police being summoned. On the FPN notice issued by the officers he is named as Alec Smith. The reason given on the notice for the fine is ‘litter’ and the officer’s explanation states ‘male has empty mocus [sic] on the ground and walked away'.
He was told that if he did not pay the fine, he would be taken to court and that the issuing of the fine had been recorded on body-worn cameras.
He attempted to make an appeal against the fine through the council’s chat system but was informed that he would have to pay within two weeks.
An Ealing Council spokesperson told GB News, “We make no apologies for taking a strong action against people who drop litter or dump rubbish, especially when it is intentionally spitting, urinating, or expelling nasal mucus which are considered littering, and which ruin the experience of people, the majority of whom want to enjoy clean streets and open spaces.
“The footage associated with this incident has been reviewed and there is a clear intentional deposit of waste – in this case nasal mucus - on the ground.”
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