Labour blasted for 'funding illegal immigrants instead of supporting homeless' as city encampment grows in London's richest borough

Data from Trust for London shows 11,993 were homeless in London between 2023 and 2024, with more than 2,000 of them moving to Westminster alone.

In 2021, there were no tents underneath the bypass; however, at least nine tents are visible now in the extremely noisy area.

Amber Tooley, a resident in the area, blamed the Government "funding illegal immigrants in hotels, food and education" and believes "there needs to be housing support and other options like this for our homeless".

She told GB News: "My thought would be the same as most British people. [How can] our very own not survive?

"Hotels are being taken over by different councils all over the UK. This needs to be given to our homeless; they are being offered all sorts of support. Why are homeless people not being offered this?"

Former homeless man Aziz explained to GB News that there is no support to help people get off the street.

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He said: "I've been through this after splitting up with my ex. As a man, if you apply for housing, you do not get that help. They expect you to go and find your own. The housing situation is a massive challenge in this country.

"The reason for this is that they are not building many houses. Always Labour, Conservative or Reform blame us, people coming into this country, but they do not build extra houses.

"I do not believe any Government has gone 100 per cent with helping people on the street."

Statistics show that there are three times as many people who are now homeless in London since 2008, with the number of rough sleepers who are male at 82 per cent.

Ethnic minorities account for the majority of rough sleepers in the capital, comprising 51 per cent, although the highest number from any single ethnic group is white, with 5,127 individuals experiencing homelessness.

Peter Thomas from the Office for National Statistics echoed resident Tooley's thoughts, suggesting the "matter of the problem is immigration".

Thomas said: "It is a very serious problem, and no one does too much about it. Really, I feel sorry for them in a way. We never used to have this problem.

"It is because of a swollen population. There's no two ways about it. You put three into two, and it does not go."

Westminster City Council, turned red in 2022 for the first time ever - having always been a Tory stronghold since 1964.

A spokesperson for the council told GB News: "The reasons people are living on the street are complex, including family breakdown, evictions, and affordability, which leave people with no option.

"Others may be traumatised and present to services with a range of challenging needs. Whatever the causes, underpasses and central reservations are not safe places to camp, and the welfare of people staying there is a significant concern.

"Council-funded rough sleeping services regularly visit both sites to offer support and signpost to appropriate services."

The Council explained that it "wants to help everybody who is sleeping rough to have access to the right advice and support that enables their move on".