Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho has distanced herself from her Cabinet colleague Suella Braverman’s claim that rough sleeping is sometimes a “lifestyle choice”.
The minister said she “wouldn’t necessarily use” the language the Home Secretary used to talk about homelessness.
It comes after Mrs Braverman was criticised by opposition politicians and the charity sector after suggesting she wants to place restrictions on the use of tents on public streets.
Appearing on Monday’s morning media round, Ms Coutinho said: “Before I came to Parliament I did a lot of work in social justice. I actually worked with people who were homeless, and I think the reasons that people get into that position are complex and very varied, so I wouldn’t necessarily use the language of ‘lifestyle choice’.
“I think, actually, in her tweet and thread, she distinguished that a lot of people who end up in that position are struggling, for example with addiction issues – she wasn’t talking about those people.
“I think the most important thing is that, for all of those people, what we want is for them to have a warm home, a roof over their heads, support and help for the challenges that they face.”
The Financial Times reported on Friday that Mrs Braverman has proposed establishing a civil offence to deter charities from giving tents to homeless people.
Organisations could be fined for doing so if it is deemed to have caused a nuisance under the plans being pitched for inclusion in the King’s Speech, which will set out the UK Government’s legislative agenda on Tuesday.
The potential law would also seek to prevent the obstruction of shop doorways by rough sleepers who are using tents, the FT said.
Sharing a link to the article in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Mrs Braverman said: “The British people are compassionate. We will always support those who are genuinely homeless.
“But we cannot allow our streets to be taken over by rows of tents occupied by people, many of them from abroad, living on the streets as a lifestyle choice.
“Unless we step in now to stop this, British cities will go the way of places in the US like San Francisco and Los Angeles, where weak policies have led to an explosion of crime, drug taking, and squalor.”
She said there are “options for people who don’t want to be sleeping rough” and that she wants to stop “those who cause nuisance and distress to other people by pitching tents in public spaces, aggressively begging, taking drugs, littering and blighting our communities.”
The Liberal Democrats described the move as “grim politics”, while Labour London Mayor Sadiq Khan said “banning tents will not solve homelessness”.
Housing charity Shelter said: “Living on the streets is not a ‘lifestyle choice’ – it is a sign of failed government policy.”
The Home Office has it cannot comment on what might feature in the King’s Speech but a spokesman said it wants to “ensure our communities feel safe and secure”.
