A reader recently wrote:

“There is a homeless man who for some time has pitched his night time cardboard box on a pedestrian slope near St James’s station, hard against a building for warmth. He is harmless. He has a wonderful, well-tempered dog who sleeps against him for warmth. People (including me) drop a few coins by him in the morning to give him a chance of a warm drink. Recently, new stones have been laid along the base of the building, down the slope. They are in a wave pattern and their only purpose seems to have been to move on the homeless man and his dog (who now simply sleep round the corner)”

The building is One Brewer’s Green – the home of the Labour Party.

Today there is outrage that at a building in Southwark is using similar prevention techniques. The Mayor of London has called it “ugly, self defeating and stupid”, while Crisis say “we will never tackle rough sleeping with studs in the pavement. Instead we must deal with the causes.” Some food for thought for people who will have guilty consciences in Labour HQ…

UPDATE: A Labour spokesperson says:

“The Labour Party is a tenant at this address and does not have control over external alterations made by the building’s owner.”