A political storm is brewing ahead of UK Prince Harry’s and Meghan Markle’s May 19 wedding over whether to crack down on homeless people and beggars in the well-to-do English town of Windsor.
The wedding will be held at Windsor Castle, the town’s most famous landmark and a favored residence of Queen Elizabeth II. It is expected to draw thousands of extra visitors to a picturesque riverside town 32 kilometers west of London that is already popular with international tourists, CTV News reported.
Borough council leader Simon Dudley kicked off the controversy by tweeting over the Christmas holidays about the need to clean up the town’s streets. He then wrote to police and Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May suggesting action be taken to reduce the presence of beggars and the homeless.
Homeless charities reacted angrily at the weekend to his suggestion that homelessness should be treated as a police matter so that Windsor can make a positive impression on visitors drawn to the royal nuptials.
Greg Beales, a spokesman for Shelter, said people sleeping on the streets are in desperate need of help, particularly in winter, when the weather can be dangerously cold.
“Stigmatizing or punishing them is totally counter-productive,” he said.
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