Death of man in Westminster Tube Station

[LittleLostLion]

So, I saw this as I was walking to work this week. I experienced a range of emotions when I read the man had died [for those of you that don't know this man was experiencing homelessness and died a few hundred feet from the Houses of Parliament].

Quite an outpouring of how unacceptable this was from some MPs including Jeremy Corbyn, as well as charities who were supporting the man.

It's now being reported that he had been deported twice, the first time because he had sexually abused a child and had a prison sentence, the second for re-entering the UK illegally.

Connections have been reporting on how they have been supporting this man to find a job - AIBU to think they should be doing background checks on people before they start helping them source work?

All I can think of is this had the potential to be Alice Gross all over again. Why the hell haven't we learnt our lessons?

Yanbu

I did have sympathy at first. However since I discovered he sexually abusəd a child. My pity is no more.

How did he get back in twice?

"AIBU to think they should be doing background checks on people before they start helping them source work?"

Yes. Unless the work requires a DBS then how do you suggest they do find this information? It isn't their role.

I'm not surprised about Corbyn jumping on any bandwagon he can without having the intelligence to check anything first. His meeting with Vujanic being the most recent example.

This in the Guardian

www.theguardian.com/society/2018/feb/16/portugal-president-marcelo-rebelo-de-sousa-portuguese-homeless-man-death-westminster
I don't see how we can house all the homeless of Europe. Is the UK to give everyone a house for free if they can't afford it? I'm not sure what the answer but this will get worse, we will have shanty towns and tent city springing up all over the UK

Regardless of background it shouldn't be happening in modern day Britain. I thought we'd moved on from the deserving/undeserving poor mentality

^ this, we don't get to play judge and jury. His actions and demise have no place in modern society.

Regardless of background it shouldn't be happening in modern day Britain. I thought we'd moved on from the deserving/undeserving poor mentality

Background is relevant here.

And it has nothing to do with deserving/undeserving poor.

No one should be freezing to death in the streets.

Not even someone who has been twice deported for after paedophile offences and who had yet again illegally re-entered the country.

Yes, I agree that publicly funded bodies (except perhaps those assisting appeals) should not be assisting those who have been deported and illegally returned, and that they should be ascertaining the identity and status of clients (I should imagine it's fairly easy to get away with a pretence though), and that any employer who takes on someone via this service should not be liable if ineligibility to work in UK later comes to light - because it is entirely reasonable for an employer to rely on a funded organisation. (But I don't think it works like that, individual employers are meant to check eligibility to work, and can be liable even if scammed in a sophisticated way; Connectiins should check tomthe same standard as employers do).

But that aside, assistance and shelter to stop anyone freezing to death should be in place for all-comers.

Well okay perhaps he should be in prison and not housed, but FFS this is totally relevant to deserving/undeserving poor mentality. Especially in that people are always searching for evidence one way or another to determine their reaction to any individual in a shit situation in this shit world.

I also think the background is relevant here. The man entered this country illegally. He made a choice to be here. As part of that choice and being here illegally, he found himself homeless. He was from another European country, not from some impoverished, war torn nation. He had no business being here.

When you’re talking about Alice, do you mean in terms of how easy it is for dangerous criminals to enter or disappear once in the country?

Offenders just get more dangerous when they're homeless.

What @thebutterfly said.

What @Mummy said!

He was originally from Angola, with Portuguese citizenship. The safeguarding aspect is interesting - how do homeless shelters safeguard young or vulnerable males from older sex offenders, such as this man?

Is there a source for this that isn't just the daily mail or the express using careful quotation marks?

If it's true then it raises some very difficult questions, but I can only find it in those two rags!

Either way there is a balancing act between being human and being practical - on the one hand, this was a human being, who died in a terrible way On the other, we cannot house every single foreign national. the way corbyn carries on, he'd be encouraging everyone in the world to come here and claim they are homeless.

Doesn't he have a lodger? Why not take in a homeless person himself if he has a spare room??

He had citizenship in a safe country, he committed an appalling crime in this country and Britain twice made it clear to him that he was not welcome. He chose to enter Britain illegally which, combined with his conviction, was always going to make it difficult for him to establish any life other than vagrancy. I can not understand why he didn’t remain in Portugal.

I think in 2018 in the U.K. It's very sad we still walk on by and leave people in positions where they can freeze to death. Nobody walking past had any idea of his history, imo it doesn't with hindsight now excuse the behaviour of us as a society

No I don't think charities providing basics like sleeping bags and soup should have to do background checks and I suspect proving the ID may be hard for a homeless person

No sympathy for him. He shouldn't have been here. This isn't an impoverished asylum seeker. He was a child abuser. We don't have to take in and house everyone who wants to be here.

I read shit like this and good old corbyn pontificating about the failings of government and I think its making me more right wing by the day. I used to be a firm lefty.

Is there any sources detailing his background? OP could you provide links?

He eneteted the country illegally. His choice to be here. He’s a fucking child abuser for fucks sake! The only help that should have been offered to him was another deportation.

The U.K. have enough problems with poor people with various problems without taking in billions from the rest of the world. The U.K. needs stronger border controls, if the EU was a non-corrupt organisation freedom of movement would have been better organised, not allow mass immigration so businesses could pay low wages.

The U.K. is not responsible for every person on the planet

oh jeez. he died, a homeless person.
every person has a history.
how wicked to dredge up his history and say "he deserved to die on the street"

Discounting nationality, background and legality.

Without too much info to be outing, I've attended meetings where many government funded agencies meet to discuss the local homeless individuals of which there are many. They do this weekly. There are many reasons for their homelessness- addiction, relationship breakdown, fleeing violence etc. These agencies work tirelessly to help them in SO many ways. To secure places in hostels/supported housing/private rents, to ensure their benefits are paid, accompanying them to DWP appointments, GP or hospital appointments, paying for travel to appointments, providing food, clothes and not least, paying for deposits/bonds to secure accommodation then supplementing it to furnish it.

They even visit weekly, daily if needed to help keep on top of cleaning.

I was actually staggered and pleased at the amount of help available. And it works. But here's the thing, it works for those that want it. It's evident though that those that want it are in the minority.

I can't tell you the amount of times that a HUGE amount of effort has gone into supporting an individual, moving them forward, funding things and the elation at the feeling that they've "turned a corner" when they find them accommodation, move them in only for them to either knowingly break the tenancy agreement or just abandon the property and return to the streets. It's frustrating beyond belief. And they'll be the first person to state that it's "not their fault" and "no-one helps them" while begging on the street again.

I wish this WAS a "sweeping statement" or a "generalisation" but sadly it's not.

When it works it's great and even when it doesn't, the agencies don't write them off, they start the process all over again and hope the outcome is different.

This is true for my area. Just to highlight that when people read stories of homelessness and assume that no-one is helping, it's possibly not the case.

I feel more sorry for his victims and families. I'm sure they aren't concerned he died in this way.