Theresa May slaps down Tory council leader over royal wedding homelessness crackdown
2 min read
Theresa May has slapped down the leader of Windsor and Maidenhead Council over the local authority’s controversial crackdown on street homelessness ahead of the royal wedding.
Conservative councillor Simon Dudley faced a barrage of criticism from charities after it emerged he had ordered police to clear the borough of rough sleepers in preparation for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's nuptials in May.
The local authority chief justified the policy saying “an epidemic of rough sleeping and vagrancy” in Windsor was putting “a beautiful town in a sadly unfavourable light”.
However, the Prime Minister – who is the MP for Maidenhead – this afternoon condemned the move.
Speaking during a visit to a hospital, Mrs May said: “I don’t agree with the comments that the leader of the council has made.
"I think it is important that councils work hard to ensure that they are providing accommodation for those people who are homeless, and where there are issues of people who are aggressively begging on the streets then it’s important that councils work with the police to deal with that aggressive begging.”
Mr Dudley set out the plan in a letter to Thames Valley Police in which he called for the 1824 Vagrancy Act and the 2014 Antisocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act to be used against rough sleepers and people asking for money on the streets.
The police force has since distanced itself from policy, however, saying it doesn’t consider legal action to be an effective tool in tackling homelessness.
Charities earlier slammed the move, with Greg Beales of Shelter saying: “Stigmatising or punishing [rough sleepers] is totally counterproductive.
“They desperately need our help, support and advice to move off the streets into safety and, eventually, into a home.”
Paul Noblet of Centrepoint added: “Begging and rough sleeping are two distinct issues, and it is not helpful to conflate the two.
“The best way to help rough sleepers is to get them off the streets and into an environment where they can access the long-term support they need.”
The number of people sleeping rough in England has doubled since 2010.
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