In defence of Rishi Sunak’s crackdown on beggars

When Rishi Sunak presented the latest attempt by a prime minister to get tough on anti-social behaviour, it wasn’t the graffiti-cleaning or the ‘gotcha’ fly-tip cameras or the labelled jumpsuits that caught my eye. It was the inclusion of begging. 

Admittedly, you had to go pretty far down his pledge list before you found it. Perhaps someone with a longer institutional memory than the current Cabinet Secretary, Simon Case, had warned him of the drubbing John Major received from the great and the good – and many well-meaning liberals – when he launched his drive against ‘aggressive’ begging in 1994. 

It will be made an offence for criminal gangs to organise begging networks for extra cash, which is often used to facilitate illegal activities. To ensure police and local councils can address activity which is intimidating or causes the public distress, they will have the tools to direct people causing nuisance on the street – including by obstructing shop doorways and begging by cash points – towards the support they need, such as accommodation or mental health and substance misuse services.