Homelessness charities have told Rishi Sunak to put his money where his mouth is after he paid an “excruciating” visit to a shelter.
The “out of touch” PM faced a backlash after asking a man “do have a - do you work in a business?” while serving him a fried egg during a Christmas photo opportunity.
The man named Dean replied: “No, I'm homeless. I'm actually a homeless person at the minute. But I am interested.”
As they chatted about business, millionaire Mr Sunak enthused “I used to work in finance actually!” and asked Dean if he would “like to get into” finance.
Dean replied: “I wouldn’t mind, but… I’d like to get through Christmas.”
The cheery PM pressed on “what are you doing this weekend?” - to which Dean replied he was hoping for a temporary bed.
Labour’s Lisa Nandy said “how much more out of touch could this Prime Minister be?”. Lib Dem MP Helen Morgan branded it “a new low”.
The PM visited The Passage shelter in London to praise their work and boast the government was “investing a significant amount”.
Levelling-Up Minister Felicity Buchan said: "We announced a huge package to tackle homelessness - £654m over 2 years."
But Shelter said “the government should be doing a lot more” to help homeless people - starting with raising housing benefit, which Mr Sunak has frozen since 2020.
The charity also urged the PM to “get on with building decent social homes” after he watered down housing targets to quell a Tory revolt.
Chief executive Polly Neate said: "Hundreds of thousands of people, including more than 120,000 children, woke up homeless today.
“Many more are hanging onto their homes by the skin of their teeth as rents and household bills continue to rocket.”
Balbir Kaur Chatrik of Centrepoint said his visit “can only be a good thing” - but there is “a long way to go” to end rough sleeping.
She warned: “Even in the sub-zero temperatures of the last few weeks we continued to receive calls to our helpline from those struggling to find a warm and safe place to stay.
“If we can’t get people off the streets when lives are at risk, then it’s hard to imagine that councils and charities will have the resources - never mind the strategy - they need from central government to prevent rough sleeping all year around unless significantly more investment is made.”
The PM’s exchange while serving breakfast began after Dean asked him if he was “sorting the economy out” and mentioned business.
Top Tory Dominic Raab defended Mr Sunak, pointing out he talked about finance because Dean said he was interested.
The deputy PM retweeted a post saying: “What do you think Sunak should have said: ‘Forget it, Dean, you're homeless. You'll never get a job in finance.’?”
But Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner tweeted the clip with the word: "Excruciating."
Labour frontbencher Jess Phillips tweeted: "Rishi Sunak cosplaying as a charity worker as homelessness and poverty soured under his stewardship of the economy and while his government drags its feet on the regulation against those profiteering from homelessness and vulnerability is as cringeworthy as expected."
Shadow Levelling-Up Secretary Ms Nandy added: “After the Tories crashed the economy, sending mortgages and rents soaring, homelessness is on the rise this winter.
“So perhaps Rishi Sunak should focus on fixing this crisis rather than posing for excruciating photo opportunities.
“The last Labour government nearly eliminated rough sleeping, the next one will finish the job and end it for good."
Lib Dem MP Ms Morgan said: “This is a new low for the Rishi Sunak.
“It is outrageous that the most powerful man in the country could be so out of touch with the reality faced by those less fortunate across the UK. The Prime Minister needs more empathy.”
