A huge tent encampment in London's West End, spanning areas like Warren Street and Park Lane, has drawn comparisons to America's "Skid Row" and highlights the scale of the homelessness challenge facing new PM Andy Burnham after he pledged to end rough sleeping in Britain. Photos show tents and rough sleepers near expensive hotels, Selfridges, and Marks & Spencer, with local residents, shop staff, and hotel workers reporting problems including public drug use, urination, shoplifting, and intimidation of customers and guests. Some wealthy Park Lane residents have hired private security in response.
One rough sleeper, Hamed Hassan, said he has lived at the site for two to three years and welcomed Burnham's pledge, while noting most residents at his camp are Romanian nationals. Business owners and workers described repeated shoplifting and antisocial behaviour going largely unpunished, with some blaming a lack of police response. A Fitzrovia resident criticised both the situation and London Mayor Sadiq Khan's handling of it.
The Mayor's office responded by pointing to £10 million invested last year in homelessness services and a stated goal of ending rough sleeping by 2030, citing a recent fall in numbers. Trust for London data shows 13,231 people were seen rough sleeping in the capital in 2024/25, up 10% year-on-year and nearly 75% higher than a decade ago.
Westminster City Council deputy leader Cllr Caroline Sargent said the situation was unacceptable and called for coordinated action from government, police, immigration enforcement and businesses, noting the council spends £8 million a year on support services while facing budget cuts. She said much of the ongoing problem involves people who either refuse the council's help or aren't eligible for it, which she suggested can mask organised gangs involved in antisocial behaviour and criminality. She said she wanted to take Burnham up on his pledge to end rough sleeping, and that solving it for good would require everyone, including immigration authorities, police, and businesses, to play their part, with urgent support needed from the Home Office.
Read this story by Bruno Brown originally published in The Sun in full here.
SHANTY SHAME
We live in huge tent city dubbed UK’s ‘Skid Row’ in shadow of posh mansions… drugs, public urinating & stealing are rife
Westminster City Council deputy leader Cllr Caroline Sargent said
“Local people and businesses are fed up with these rough sleeping sites springing up, and so are we,” the councillor said.
“This is totally unacceptable in the heart of a capital city.
“Our teams are having to clean up the mess from these sites, and it is ultimately the Westminster taxpayer who is footing the bill at a time when millions are being slashed off our budget.
“As a Council we do all we can to help genuine rough sleepers off the streets and spend £8m a year on help ranging from hostels to addiction treatment.
“It is often the case we are dealing with people who either won’t accept our help, or who are not entitled to help. This masks organised gangs who commit anti-social behaviour and, in some cases, criminality.
“Andy Burnham has pledged to end rough sleeping – I’d like to take him up on that. We need everyone to play their part – immigration, police and businesses so that we end this problem for good and this needs the urgent support of the Home Office“.
