Tory MP Richard Holden fined £100 for littering after dropping cigarette butt outside election count

No smoke without fine! Tory MP Richard Holden is hit with £100 penalty notice for littering after dropping cigarette butt outside North-West Durham election count

  • Richard Holden was hit with the charge in his constituency in County Durham
  • He has previously posted images of himself on social media litter picking
  • The MP was given ten days to pay before fine increases to £150  

A Conservative MP has been issued with a £100 fine for dropping a cigarette outside an election count.

Richard Holden, who represents North-West Durham, was hit with the charge outside the Louisa Centre in Stanley, County Durham on May 8. 

He had been there supporting Conservative Party candidates in the Durham County Council elections but had left the building to smoke a cigarette. 

It is understood he was spotted by a council warden dropping the butt onto the ground, bringing about a charge for the offence of littering. 

Mr Holden, who was elected in 2019, and has posted pictures of himself on social media doing litter picking in his constituency, was given ten days to pay before the charge increases to £150. 

Conservative MP Richard Holden has been issued with a £100 fine for dropping a cigarette outside an election count

Ian Hoult, Durham County Council’s neighbourhood protection manager, said: ‘We can confirm one of our neighbourhood wardens observed two people littering outside the Louisa Centre, Stanley, during Saturday’s local election count and issued them both with fixed penalty notices.’ 

Mr Holden has been approached for comment. 

In a tweet in June showing him litter picking, Mr Holden said he was ‘fed up’ with seeing rubbish. 

He asked: ‘What sort of yob just tosses it out the window?’

Mr Holden, who represents North-West Durham, was hit with the charge outside the Louisa Centre in Stanley, County Durham on May 8

Mr Holden, who represents North-West Durham, was hit with the charge outside the Louisa Centre in Stanley, County Durham on May 8

In a tweet in June showing him litter picking, Mr Holden said he was 'fed up' with seeing rubbish. He asked: 'What sort of yob just tosses it out the window?'

In a tweet in June showing him litter picking, Mr Holden said he was ‘fed up’ with seeing rubbish. He asked: ‘What sort of yob just tosses it out the window?’