London Mayor Sadiq Khan was challenged to explain why it took weeks to close down a migrant tent village in one of London’s richest and poshest neighbourhoods. Bailiffs arrived at 5am yesterday to clear out the shanty town in London’s famous Park Lane. But Transport for London (TfL), which is chaired by the mayor, was granted a possession order to remove the camp in May.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said the mayor “let it fester while he hides in City Hall”. The Conservative politician visited the camp, where 30 people had been living, along with an Express reporter earlier this week. He said: “I saw it with my own eyes.
“A major centre for tourists and visitors in Britain, Park Lane, turned into a lawless shanty camp because Sadiq Khan couldn’t be bothered to lift a finger. Migrants setting up tents, abusing passers-by, treating one of our capital’s most iconic streets like their personal dumping ground.
“I was personally shouted at and threatened in the middle of central London. This is what happens when Labour hand over our borders, dismantle enforcement, and leave police powerless.”
He also condemned Labour’s decision to scrap the 200-year-old Vagrancy Act, which made rough sleeping a criminal offence. Tories say police rarely arrested people for this offence but the legislation allowed them to move rough sleepers on.
“Park Lane is now a monument to Labour’s failure. Frankly, Londoners are sick of the Mayor’s excuses.”
An Express reporter visited the camp on Tuesday and when he asked inhabitants why they were still there, one woman said she had been sleeping on the streets and was waiting for a home after spending a month at the camp.
Transport for London said it had given the camp’s inhabitants time to remove their belongings and engage with services that could provide alternative accommodation.
A spokesperson said: “No one should be faced with sleeping rough on London’s streets. Park Lane is a busy part of the road network that is not a safe place for people to sleep rough and our focus has always been on the safety and welfare of everyone involved.
“We had to take enforcement action to regain possession of the site on two occasions last year, however, a number of people have returned with tents and other belongings. In order to ensure the safety and wellbeing of everyone involved we were granted a possession order at the Central London County Court in May.
“Outreach efforts have been continuing, but the encampment has remained in place, meaning we have been left with no option but to take further enforcement action to gain possession of the site. There is no safe option for rough sleepers to remain at the site and we will continue to work with our partners to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of everyone involved.”
But the mayor was accused of encouraging more migrant encampments with his plan to pedestrianise Oxford Street, London’s famous shopping heartland.
Conservative London Assembly member Susan Hall said: “Oxford Street will make a lovely site for lots and lots of tents. The mayor has failed to get a grip of this issue and appears determined to make the problem worse.
“We can’t have it. It looks terrible for tourists, it changes the character of neighbourhoods and there is no reason it should happen.”