Begging is a lifestyle choice, says councillor

‘If somebody is sleeping out on the street they are not there by choice, but because something has gone wrong’

BEGGARS have made a life choice and should be cleared from the streets of Windsor ahead of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding, the leader of the local council has said.

Comments by Tory councillor Simon Dudley, from the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, were branded “abhorrent” yesterday ahead of the royal wedding in the town next May.

Mr Dudley said beggars could present the town in a “sadly unfavourable light”, and tweeted that some rough sleepers had made a “commercial life choice preying on residents and tourists”. In a letter to police, he complained about “aggressive begging and intimidation” and “bags and detritus” on the streets. His comments were criticised by homeless charities, who described them as “sickening”.

Murphy James, of Windsor Homeless Project, said: “It’s absolutely abhorrent that anybody has got these views in this day and age, especially a lead councillor of the borough.

“If somebody is sleeping out on the street they are not there by choice, they are there because something has gone wrong.” Mr James described it as “sickening” that Mr Dudley cited the royal wedding as a reason for his comments.

Mr Dudley had tweeted that there is “an epidemic of rough sleeping and vagrancy” in the town and demanded that police “focus on dealing with this before the #Royalwedding”.

He also wrote to Anthony Stansfeld, the Police and Crime Commissioner for the Thames Valley, calling on officers to take action.

He said police should use their powers under the 1824 Vagrancy Act and the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to “protect residents and tourists”.

Mr Stansfeld was surprised that the letter, of Jan 2, was released publicly and said he would provide Mr Dudley with a full response in due course.