The Metropolitan Police Commissioner has apologised for acting unlawfully and violating Liberty client Anthony Sinclair’s human rights.

In November, the Met Police sparked outrage for forcing several people experiencing homelessness to leave the area they were living in. When Anthony Sinclair refused to abandon his home, the police arrested him. Meanwhile Camden Council workers threw away his tent, mattress, toiletries, and other belongings.

With support from Liberty and grassroots group Streets Kitchen, Anthony took legal action. He argued “dispersal orders”, like those police used here, should not prevent people from accessing the place where they live – in this case, the tent in which he had been living for several months. He said the police breached his human rights and put him and numerous other homeless people at risk of harm.

In January this year, the police admitted they had acted unlawfully and issued an apology.

Anthony’s case lays down a marker that police cannot flagrantly disregard the rights of people living on the streets in this way.

As he put it: “I hope that no one in the future receives the treatment that I did.” However, injustices like this are sadly not isolated, one-off incidents. As Streets Kitchen reminded us, things like this happen every day up and down the country.

This government is criminalising poverty and homelessness, and the police are misusing powers they have been given – in this case, dispersal orders – to remove people from a specific area. This does nothing to deal with the root causes of homelessness or support those experiencing it, and puts them at greater risk of harm.

This case highlights the need to resist efforts by the authorities to criminalise poverty and homelessness instead of providing sufficient resources to deal with the underlying causes and provide people with practical support. This is all the more urgent in this era of austerity and the ongoing cost of living emergency.

Liberty will continue to work with individuals, partners, and homelessness organisations to make sure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect. If you want to support us, please consider becoming a Liberty supporter today.

Best wishes,

Lana Adamou

Lawyer