The homeless man who died yards from the entrance to Parliament, as temperatures plunged in central London, had worked as a model, was Portuguese and has been deported twice from Britain to Portugal. The 35-year-old man has not yet been named. He was a regular at an emergency shelter run by the charity in central London.
Staff there said they the man had submitted a job application form a week before his death and was hoping to be taken on as a waiter. Workers at The Connection added that despite the man having 'complex circumstances,' he enjoyed yoga classes and singing.
The Charity's staff were deeply saddened by his death after his body was found early on Wednesday, 14th February.
The man’s body was found in a pedestrian underpass, used as a back entrance by parliament staff, after night time temperatures dropped to around three below zero.
Politicians were swift to add their tributes, led by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn who left a card that read, 'This should never have happened. As a country we must stop walking by. Rest in peace.'
'He had strengths, talents and skills but he also had problems and things went very wrong for him. The support shown by the wider public for him and his situation has been very moving.'
Politicians claimed to be horrified at the news of the tragedy, and said it should serve as a wake-up call to combat the number of rough sleepers in central London, Westminster has around 200 on any one night.
The Portuguese President posted a note on his official site to record his condolences. Rebelo de Sousa said he “laments the death in inhumane circumstances of our fellow countryman of 35 years, who was found without life in one of the metro entries in the British capital.”
A spokesperson for Westminster City Council, whose outreach workers discovered the unresponsive man just after 07.15 and tried to resuscitate him, said, “This is a very sad incident and we will work with police as they establish the cause of death.”
The Office of the Secretary of State for Portuguese Communities stated that the man had been deported from the UK to Portugal in 2014 and again in 2016 and that his whereabouts was unknown to consular officials at the time of his death.
The Portuguese Consular Services, "have tried to contact the family of the Portuguese citizen deceased in tragic circumstances in the British capital, which has not yet proved possible."
It is not excluded that any relatives could "reside in other countries, especially in Angola, where the citizen had family roots."
Consular staff are continuing to "monitor this process with the British authorities," as regards identification, autopsy and administrative procedures related to the release of the body and death registration.
British are preparing a report on this case to hand over to the coroner, the investigating judge who directs the investigation into unexpected deaths without natural cause.
