Sunak facing revolt over plan to criminalise homelessness, which could see people fined for having an ‘excessive smell’

HOMELESSNESS

Rishi Sunak is facing a revolt from Conservative MPs over plans to criminalise homelessness in the Criminal Justice Bill that even a member of his own cabinet has criticised publicly.

The Criminal Justice Bill is intended to repeal the Vagrancy Act – the 200-year-old law that criminalises rough sleeping and begging. But the new bill brings with it a host of new punitive measures against people who are “nuisance rough sleeping”, including the threat of a £2,500 fine or prison.

The government has paused the bill’s progress through parliament to negotiate with up to 40 Tory MPs who plan to vote against the government when it returns, according to The Times.

MPs have criticised the bill’s approach to tackling homelessness through legal action, even giving police the power to take action against rough sleepers for “excessive smell”.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan admitted to Sky News that the wording was unclear. “I think the most important thing is we help people off the streets. That’s why we’re putting £200m a year into this. No, people should not be arrested if they smell,” said Keegan. “I guess the word is excessive and I don’t know what they mean.”

An amendment has been lodged by Tory MP and long-time homelessness campaigner Bob Blackman to remove the replacement powers and finally repeal the Vagrancy Act. The government promised to scrap the archaic act back in 2021. Blackman described the Criminal Justice Bill as the “Vagrancy Act on steroids”