Police crack down on Romanian rough sleepers
Police and immigration officers have led a crackdown on rough sleeping by Romanian nationals in London.
Officers on Friday questioned 63 Romanians sleeping near Marble Arch, in Westminster. Around 20 were placed on flights home on Friday afternoon.
Paul Wylie, head of Home Office immigration enforcement in London, said: ‘By working closely with the Metropolitan Police Service in this way we were able to identify and arrest a number of immigration offenders from Eastern Europe.
‘Where foreign nationals with no permission to be in the UK refuse to return home voluntarily we will take action to remove them. This includes those from within the European Economic Area who have been in the country for longer than three months and are not working, studying or self-sufficient, as required by EU law.’
Outreach workers from homelessness charity Thames Reach, including Romanian-speaking staff, offered help and advice to the rough sleepers. Audrey Mitchell, director at Thames Reach, said: ‘Working with our partners in Westminster today has ensured that this vulnerable group of people will get the support they need to move off the streets and on with their lives. ‘
