Former homeless councillor tells Braverman to quit

Now a councillor and a teacher, Dan Boatright-Greene said his life could have turned out differently if he was not offered help

A councillor has revealed his own brush with homelessness in a letter to the home secretary calling on her to resign for her comments on rough sleepers.

Suella Braverman has faced criticism since calling the use of tents for many rough sleepers "a lifestyle choice".

Dan Boatright-Greene wrote that to the contrary, such situations were forced upon people by circumstance.

"I could easily have ended up in one of those tents you are so keen to ban," he informed her.

Ms Braverman's proposals to restrict the use of tents by rough sleepers in England and Wales did not feature in the King's Speech setting out the government's priorities for the year ahead, and Downing Street said it would not speculate on whether the proposal would eventually be included in the Criminal Justice Bill.

Mr Boatwright-Greene has told the home secretary by letter to "get out of the way"

The open letter from Mr Boatright-Greene, 40, a Liberal Democrat member of Worcestershire County Council, featured a description of having no home for two months when he was 17.

He said there were "nights when you can find yourself on a train station bench. I know what it feels like. It is not a lifestyle choice".

'Infuriated'

He wrote: "I am infuriated by the lack of support for those most in need."

The letter added: "If we don't want people to live in such poor conditions, start funding our services better.

"As a member of the law-abiding majority, I will always help those in need rather than criminalising them.

"If you cannot find the compassion to do this, resign and get out of the way so the rest of us can get on with the job."

Mr Boatright-Greene works as a teacher. He told the BBC his life could have turned out a lot differently but for the compassion that was shown to him more than 20 years ago.

He explained how as a teenager, his parents lived in Germany and he had fallen out with family members in the UK while studying at college, leaving him with nowhere to stay.

He said: I took a lot of time staying with friends until it got quite bad. I found myself basically on a train station bench.

"That situation started to break down quite quickly, but no one would rent to me because I was a college student, I was 17, and you're considered a risk."

Despite not having a roof over his head, he continued to go to college and work without letting anyone know the reality of his situation.

In the evenings, he said, he would strategically arrange his social life so he would be able to stay overnight at friends' houses.

But, he added, "there were a lot of opportunities to go off the rails at that point".

'I just admitted it'

After eight weeks without a home, his college stepped in and a young couple volunteered to take him in as a lodger, offering him hope, he said.

He explained: "I had slept on a train station bench then came into college and I looked pretty rough. I just admitted it, it was the first time I told anyone, and I was dragged down to the support people in college, sat down in front of [someone] and she basically wouldn't let me leave until I said everything.

"At that point a lot of very kind and lovely people helped me find my feet."

He added: "I think unless someone actually said the words 'what is going on?' I'm not entirely sure, but I think I would have kept [sleeping rough]."

He said: "It's not a choice for anybody, it's a set of circumstances that have come together that have put you in that position."