A ROUGH sleeper died yards from Parliament yesterday after a night of sub-zero temperatures.

The homeless man, thought to be in his 40s, could not be revived when he was found unconscious in an underpass next to Westminster Tube station that MPs use daily.

Shocked campaigners said the death should shame ministers into tackling the ‘appalling’ problem of homelessness in Britain. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, whose team used to give food to the man, led tributes and asked for flowers to be laid at the scene.

‘The powerful can’t carry on walking by on the other side while people don’t have a home to call their own,’ he said. ‘It’s time all MPS took up this moral challenge and properly housed everyone.’

Council officials, paramedics and police tried to resuscitate the man when he was discovered at 7.17am in the underpass, which links the Tube station with the Parliamentary estate. He was pronounced dead shortly after 7.30am.

Polly Neate, of charity Shelter, said: ‘Those sleeping on our streets have to endure the cold, poor health, regular abuse and sometimes violence.

‘Tragically, many rough sleepers will die younger as a result. We need to do more to help people off the streets and to prevent homelessness in the first place.’

The death came weeks after figures from the government revealed the number of rough sleepers had climbed to a ten-year high.

Figures based on snapshot counts by local councils showed 4,751 people were bedding down on the streets.

Homelessness minister Heather Wheeler said the Westminster rough sleeper’s death was ‘dreadful news’, adding in a tweet: ‘Stories like this push me on to find solutions and work to eradicate rough sleeping for good.’

The ministry of housing, communities and local government said it had vowed to halve rough sleeping by 2022 and had made more than £1billion available.

A ‘housing first’ approach will see people given homes before they are helped with issues such as addiction.