Angry locals row in Windsor after councillor's bid to 'remove homeless' for Royal Wedding
MEGHAN Markle and Prince Harry's royal wedding has sparked arguments after Windsor Council's leader Simon Dudley called for the police to deal with the issue of homelessness.
In a letter to the police, Mr Dudley said that beggars could show the borough in an “unfavourable light” during Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding.
The letter was branded “abhorrent” by local campaigners and has sparked rows on the streets of Windsor.
An Italian restaurant owner clashed with a homeless charity worker live on ITV News over the issue.
The homeless charity worker, Murphy James, said that he “had sympathy” for the restaurant owner, but asked him not to use homeless people as a “pawn” to make his point.
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The restaurant owner replied by saying that he was “closing down because of you all.”
The pair eventually had to be separated by a police officer.
During his letter to police, Mr Dudley called for police to focus on “dealing” with the homeless problem before the Royal Wedding.
He said: “There is a growing concern amongst residents, businesses and visitors regarding the number of people occupying the streets of Windsor, who are begging during the day and in some cases taking occupancy throughout the night.
It's absolutely abhorrent that anybody has got these views in this day and age
“In the Royal Borough, we believe homelessness is completely unacceptable in a caring, compassionate community such as ours. We are working to create the necessary housing for our residents.
“Obviously, the level of tourist interest is set to multiply with the Royal Wedding in May 2018, and there are increased concerns from our residents about their safety. The whole situation also presents a beautiful town in a sadly unfavourable light.
“It’s largely vagrancy and begging… People marching tourists to cash points to withdraw cash, hanging out near car park ticket machines to get discounts and ask tourists for money’ during a lengthy discourse with residents.”
Windsor Homeless Project’s Murphy James 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.”
The Royal Wedding is expected to bring in a huge £500million to the UK economy as thousands of tourists are expected to head to Britain as the pair tie the knot.
According to the Office for National Statistics, Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton in April 2011 led to an increase of 350,000 visitors compared to the same month the year before and business valuation consultancy Brand Finance believes we will see a similar trend in May.
