This is hardly what you’d call a progressive idea. New rules to be launched by the Hackney Council, London, means that homeless people could be hit with a fine of up to £1,000 for sleeping in doorways near popular tourist spots. 

The Council’s Public Space Protection Order bans sleeping in public places – offenders are handed a £100 fixed penalty, which can rise to £1,000 in court. Quite how they are expected to pay is beyond us. 

Critics have accused the council of ‘social cleansing’. Homelessness charities have also expressed their disapproval, arguing that it turns rough sleepers, who may be fleeing from lives of abuse, into criminals. 

Hackney Council released a statement suggesting that the purpose was to make public spaces more welcoming for everyone, and that the restrictions will be used as a last resort. 

Speaking to the Hackney Citizen, resident Guy Aitchison said:It is especially perverse given the huge shortfall in social housing and government cuts to benefits.

This isn’t the first time this kind of thing has been proposed in the UK. A similar idea was proposed by Oxford City Council, but they backed down after a petition against the move acquired 72,000 signatures.