Homeless charities are joining a wholesale condemnation of the leader of Windsor council who called for the town's rough sleepers to be dealt with by police ahead of the Royal Wedding in May.
Conservative leader Simon Dudley was accused of advocating 'social cleansing' and of holding 'spiteful' views after he said 'an epidemic of rough sleeping and vagrancy' in Windsor was causing concern and presenting 'a beautiful town in a sadly unfavourable light'.
Dudley described homelessness as a 'commercial life choice preying on residents and tourists' and called for Thames Valley police to operate 'a more robust approach to begging', accusing rough sleepers of 'marching tourists to cash points to withdraw cash' and saying the royal wedding 'will focus minds'.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will wed in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle on May 19.
Jon Kuhrt, who works with people affected by homelessness at the Christian charity West London Mission told Christian Today rough sleeping showed 'the reality of poverty and destitution in the UK in 2018'.
He said: 'I think it is vital that charities are not involved in a social cleansing just to make our streets look nicer for tourists.'
He added: 'It is a really sad and spiteful to see people so overtly saying we need to clean up our streets.
'It is a callous thing to say,' he said, calling for repercussions for Dudley.
'To just lump all of these people together as anti-social and use terms such as "vagrants" is really unhelpful. Rough sleepers are far more likely to be victims of crime than to perpetuate crime.
'There is a huge amount of danger in sleeping rough and we should be concerned about this number rising so rapidly.'
He called on Christians to be particularly concerned with the underlying causes of homelessness, not just 'rushing to set up the response'.
Kuhrt's comments come as other homelessness charities also condemned the remarks.
'Stigmatising or punishing [rough sleepers] is totally counterproductive,' said Greg Beales of Shelter according to the Guardian. 'People sleeping on the street were "often at their lowest point, struggling with a range of complex problems and needs and they are extremely vulnerable, at risk from cold weather, illness and even violence.
'They desperately need our help, support and advice to move off the streets into safety and, eventually, into a home.'
Paul Noblet of Centrepoint said: '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.'
On top of that Dudley's remarks are unlikely to go down well with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who have both worked with organisations supporting the homeless.
