London, UK

McDonald’s UK has condemned the “disgusting behaviour” of one of its alleged employees after he covered the blanket and other belongings of a homeless man in bleach with a mop.

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A video of the incident was shared on social media Saturday night (Dec 9). The clip, reportedly recorded on Victoria Street in London, shows a security guard manhandling a homeless man outside a Nationwide bank branch, next to McDonald’s.

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The victim, 25, has been identified as Aaron McCarthy from Limerick, Ireland.

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McDonald issues apology

McDonald’s said in a statement posted on X: “The third-party security guards involved have been permanently removed from our restaurants and the restaurant team has been reminded of the importance of treating all people with respect, including vulnerable people both in the restaurant and within the wider community.

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“We would like to wholeheartedly apologise to the gentleman in the video and will work with the council to locate him and make amends as part of our ongoing work to support homelessness charities in & around the area.”

It added it was “shocked and saddened” by the footage.

Details about the incident

According to media reports, McCarthy was sitting outside the Nationwide branch when one of the McDonald’s guards asked him to move away. McCarthy reportedly refused to comply, which prompted the aggressive behaviour of the guards.

“I told them I was outside the bank, not McDonald’s and so I had nothing to do with them but then one of them came out with a bucket of water with bleach in it, I could smell it,” McCarthy was quoted as saying by local media.

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“The guy started mopping the floor and kicking my stuff into the water. It was disgusting. I had to leave because it was so stressful, and I hardly slept the entire night because my bedding was all soaked. You can still smell the bleach on my blanket,” he added.

The incident also triggered an outcry from onlookers, with some of them also recording it on their mobile phones.

One man can be heard saying: “That’s wrong, you know that, you’re covering his sleeping bag, what are you doing? You’ve covered his sleeping bag in water and it’s winter. That is outrageous.”

(With inputs from agencies)