Man films furious reaction to Scottish £5 note being refused in McDonald's

A member of staff had handed the cash back saying it was at the restaurant's "discretion" not to accept it

A Scotsman has filmed the heated moment his £5 note was rejected from a London McDonald’s.

Ian Hardie, 27, attempted to pay for his meal using the new plastic Scottish banknote, which entered circulation in October.

But staff at the Marble Arch franchise handed the cash back to him, claiming it is at the restaurant’s “discretion” to refuse it.

With Mr Hardie’s frustration building, he took out his phone to record the conversation.

“It’s pound sterling,” he argued, as the cashier handed him back his money. “It’s a f***ing £5 note!"

The video, posted to his Facebook account, has been viewed over 500,000 times.

Mr Hardie, who was visiting from Aberdeen, added: “I actually gave it as a tip to someone in the next pub and they greeted it gladly.”

According to The Bank of England, Scottish banknotes are not technically legal tender, and it us up to both parties to agree on its usage.

A McDonald’s spokesman told the Evening Standard: “As stated in the video, the note in question was passed through one of our machines responsible for checking genuine bank notes and failed on two occasions.

“This was the reason it was not accepted and has nothing to do with it being Scottish tender. The vast majority of McDonald's UK restaurants accept Scottish banknotes.”