A private enforcement industry built on littering fines and other fixed penalties has grown into a lucrative business, with local authorities increasingly relying on outside contractors to police public spaces.
At the center of that world is Terry Barton, the founder and chief executive of Kingdom Services Group, a Wigan-based company that has become a major player in civil enforcement.
Scrutiny of the sector intensified last week after two men working in enforcement roles were filmed in broad daylight on a street in Harrow, north-west London, allegedly threatening a passer-by by saying they would “rip your teeth out.” The pair have since left their jobs.
The video drew sharp public attention because the men were dressed in official-looking uniforms, complete with high-visibility markings and body cameras, and were understood to have been working in roles linked to the local council as enforcement officers. For many, the incident raised wider questions about who is policing Britain’s town centres and how they operate.
Barton, a 71-year-old former police officer, has reportedly dismissed the two men. But the controversy has also shone a light on the wider network of private firms employed to carry out enforcement work on behalf of councils — an industry critics say can empower overzealous staff and disproportionately affect vulnerable people.
Over the past decade, the use of civil enforcement officers in public spaces has expanded significantly. Opponents argue that the system has created strong financial incentives for contractors to issue fixed penalty notices aggressively, fuelling concerns about accountability, conduct and the growing presence of quasi-official figures on Britain’s high streets.
It’s an absolute goldmine for the growing army of ‘service’ companies such as Kingdom competing for local authority contracts – and here’s why: in most cases, the deal doesn’t cost the councils a penny.
Instead, the firms employing the posse of civic cowboys in their official uniforms keep a large propotion of the hefty fines they raise from those FPNs, hence, perhaps, the incentive to keep on doling them out, however slim the justification.
Millionaire businessman Terry Barton (left), is founder and CEO of Kingdom Services Group, and reigns over the highly profitable world of civil enforcement. He employed the two ‘thugs in uniform’ who threatened to rip out a man’s teeth for challenging them over an on the spot fine
He spent £740,000 buying a dated-looking house in Cheshire, only to raze it to the ground and build a luxury three-storey six-bedroom palace, complete with gym, sauna and orangery
The house owned by father-of-two Mr Barton, 71, is built on rubbish – or rather upon millions of pounds in fines handed out to those people who may – or may not – have dropped it
Mr Barton’s enforcement officers Umar Siddiq, 25, (left) and Joseph Fernandes (right), 38, were caught on camera threatening to kill a member of the public who intervened as they tried to fine a teenager for spitting in Harrow
On an individual level, the Mail has been told, Kingdom’s employees are given a target of one fine per hour – or eight per shift. Previously, as a BBC Panorama undercover investigation revealed in 2017, they were awarded bonuses for exceeding the target.
Perhaps that’s what the two bruisers filmed in Harrow meant when they told their victim that he was ‘messing with our money’.
No-one has messed with their former boss Mr Barton’s money, judging by his splendid mansion in leafy Cheshire commuter belt village.
He spent £740,000 buying a dated-looking five-bedroomed house, only to raze it to the ground and put up a luxury three-storey six-bedder in its place, complete with gym, sauna and orangery (mind where you put the orange peel).
Between them, Mr Barton, his wife Agnes, 71, and younger son Robert, 38, own all the shares of Kingdom, with its 11,500 employees and £300million in turnover, and he maintains a high profile locally.
He sponsors EFL League One side Wigan Athletic FC and hob-nobs with Labour luminaries such as former cabinet minister Lord (Peter) Hain, who joined Kingdom as an advisor in January 2026.
Mr Barton said: ‘Lord Hain and I both share a belief in helping people who haven’t necessarily had the best start in life. He will help to advise us on how we can be supporting stronger communities and part of that will be giving a helping hand especially to young people.
‘From humble beginnings to now over £300 million in revenue, The Kingdom Group has gone from strength to strength.’
Lord Hain said: ‘I look forward to helping them to make a difference in the communities that they are part of.’
Well there’s no denying that Kingdom has made a difference, the question is whether it has been a benefit to the community or not.
Enforcement officers have the legal authority to require the full name and address of anyone they propose to fine under Section 88 (8A–8C) of the Environmental Protection Act.
It is a separate criminal offence to refuse to give one of the officers your personal details under Section 8(A) of the act – with a maximum penalty of £1,000 possible.
A police officer can arrest anyone who is stopped by an environmental enforcement officer and does not give them their name and address – or provides false details.
Councils across the UK issued around 200,000 littering fines last year – bringing in about £48million in revenue, according to the campaign group Clean Up Britain.
In January, a woman in her 40s was arrested and handcuffed by police in Wealdstone, Harrow and issued a £100 fine after she had been fined by Kingdom enforcement officers — for feeding pigeons.
Because she refused to give the Kingdom officers her name and address, the police were called and four Met officers turned out to handcuff her and took her into custody, later releasing her.
Siddiq, who lives in a top floor flat with his family had been working the stretch of Northolt Road since March – but has now been sacked by the council. When asked to give his account of what happened, he said: ‘The video online was taken out of context’
Fernandes is a fitness fanatic and personal trainer who was last listed living at a £900,000 semi-detached home with his aunt
The officers told the member of the public – Alvin, 23-year-old heating and air conditioning engineer – that they would ‘rip his teeth out’ during his run in with the pair
This fixed penalty notice for £100 given to a shop worker for spitting on the floor is typical of the kind of fines given out by enforcement officers working on behalf of Mr Barton
Kingdom won the contract in Harrow after the previous provider – parking and services giant APCOA – managed to hand out a £1,000 penalty to a five-year-old girl for fly-tipping, after a parcel label bearing her name and address was found blowing on the street some distance from her address.
The company’s officers had claimed they ‘witnessed’ the fly-tipping, but were later forced to apologise.
Kingdom is far from alone in the growing sector – rivals include a smaller firm called WISE (Waste Investigations Support and Enforcement Ltd).
It was founded by a trio of ex-military and policemen, former employees of Kingdom, and they’ve built up their own ‘track record’ of ludicrous incidents picking on the public.
Last October, Burcu Yesilyurt, from Kew, west London, was slapped with a £150 fine for pouring the remnants of her coffee down a drain after she was ‘chased’ by three council officers employed by WISE.
She said she tipped a small amount of the drink from her reusable cup down the road gully because she didn’t want to spill it on the bus.
But moments later, she was ‘shocked’ to see three male enforcement officers ‘chasing’ her down the street as she stood at the bus stop near Richmond station.
The officers fined her £150 under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, reduced to £100 if she paid within 14 days.
Ms Yesilyurt said she found the encounter ‘quite intimidating’ and was left feeling ‘shaky’ on her way to work.
But Richmond-upon-Thames Council insisted its officers ‘acted professionally and objectively’ and were ‘justified’ in issuing the fine.
The council later said it had cancelled the fine and is ‘reviewing our advice on the disposal of liquids in a public place’.
Josie Appleton from the Campaign for Freedom in Everyday Life (formerly the Manifesto Club) has been monitoring the civil enforcement sector for years.
‘It’s an attractive model for cash-strapped councils as it costs them nothing, and brings in some income – though the service companies take the lion’s share of the fines for themselves.
Pictured: The business man’s son Robert, 38 (seen with a friend) owns shares of Kingdom, along with his father and mother
The Mail has been told, Kingdom’s employees are given a target of one fine per hour – or eight per shift. The company has 11,500 employees and makes £300million in turnover
‘So it’s clear that the more people they fine, the more they make, even if there were no direct incentive for an individual, the company is geared up to fine as many people as possible, and sends that message to their employees.’
She said helplines to deal with appeals are increasingly funded by the companies themselves.
‘It’s a joke and they will not actually be considering your case – it’s basically trying to find a way to scare the person to pay the fine.’
Kingdom was approached for comment.
