Human rights group welcomes Newport council's homeless fine climbdown

The campaign group spoke out after councillors agreed to water down a Public Space Protection Order which could have seen the homeless found sleeping in the heart of the city prosecuted and having to pay fines of up to £1,000.

Liberty had argued it amounted to a curb on freedom of expression and may have also hindered the right to protest.

The organisation said the rough sleeping ban would have constituted a “major threat to civil liberties” and an “affront to the city’s Chartist legacy”.

Liberty’s legal officer Rosie Brighouse said: “These concessions are a significant improvement and we are delighted the council has seen sense. “The amendments are testament to both the power of our Human Rights Act and community campaigning.

“It’s shocking that similar proposals to use PSPOs to criminalise the poorest in society continue to surface up and down the country.

“We hope to see more authorities follow Newport’s example and backtrack on their misguided plans.”

The order will see drinking alcohol banned outside licensed premises and “chuggers” will be prevented from approaching the public in a “persistent manner” to get charity subscriptions.

In addition, only landowners will be able to grant people permission for flyposting on their property and dogs will have to be kept on leads, which must not be more than 1.5m long.

In total, 41 Newport councillors voted for the council’s preferred measure and three abstained.

Under the original proposals, begging and rough sleeping would have been banned in the city centre where the offer of accommodation had been “unreasonably refused”.

Newport Conservative group leader Matthew Evans had spoken in favour of the ban, saying people were not in a third world country or the 18th century and that nobody should beg in the streets.

Cabinet member for regulatory functions Cllr Bob Poole spoke against the ban after being shocked at the plight of rough sleepers in London.