Jeremy Corbyn has said the powerful “can’t carry on walking by” after a rough sleeper was found dead just yards from the entrance to Parliament.
The Labour leader said it is time MPs took up the moral challenge to properly house everyone as the tragic case unfolded next to Westminster.
Police were called to Westminster tube station just after 7.15am on Wednesday, following reports of an “unresponsive” man in an area where rough sleepers are known to gather, just outside a Commons side entrance.
Despite attempts to resuscitate him, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
I’ve just been told about the death of a rough sleeper right by the entrance to Parliament. The powerful can’t carry on walking by on the other side while people don’t have a home to call their own. It’s time all MPs took up this moral challenge and properly housed everyone.
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) February 14, 2018
Paula Sherriff said we “must do more” after the tragic news broke, with Angela Rayner calling on the government to do more to combat homelessness.
Neil Coyle, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on homelessness, told HuffPost UK: “We have seen growing problems since 2010, as MPs, journalists and others who pass through Westminster every day will know all too well.
“This government now has on its doorstep a reminder of just how bad things are, and if they continue to ignore this growing problem, incidents like this will become more regular.
“I think members of the public will believe this is utterly unacceptable and it is time for the government to commit to action to ending rough sleeping and homelessness – many of the root causes of which we know already.
“It is not good enough for ministers to keep passing the buck.”
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