6 yıl önce

Planned crackdown on homeless before UK royal wedding sparks debate

Local authority's bid to sweep the homeless off the streets in Windsor, where Prince Harry and US actress Meghan Markle will tie the knot, has been condemned by many, including Prime Minister Theresa May.

Reuters

A homeless man sits under a bus shelter where he sleeps opposite Windsor Castle in Windsor, Britain, January 4, 2018.

Beggars need to be cleared by police from the streets of Windsor before the wedding of Prince Harry to girlfriend Meghan Markle because their "detritus" is presenting the picturesque English town in a poor light, the local council leader has said.

Queen Elizabeth's grandson Harry and his American actress fiancee are to tie the knot at Windsor Castle, the monarch's palace to the west of London, in May, with thousands of visitors expected to visit the town to celebrate the occasion.

Simon Dudley, the leader of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead council, wrote on Twitter there had been an "epidemic of rough sleeping and vagrancy" in the town and said he wanted police "to focus on dealing with this before the #RoyalWedding."

His remarks drew criticism from locals and even Prime Minister Theresa May.

TRT World's Simon McGregor-Wood reports.