The enduring appeal of its annual television advert has made John Lewis a staple of the national Christmas experience.
But visitors to the department store’s flagship branch on Oxford Street this year will find the atmosphere is decidedly un-Christmassy – as it has become the site of the latest homeless migrant camp blighting central London.
And, as well as the John Lewis camp, The Mail can also reveal that a tent village has been established close to the offices of London Mayor Sadiq Khan – whose 2024 campaign pledge was to end homelessness in the capital.
While a third camp visited by the Mail this week is located under a flyover on the Edgware Road – on land owned by Transport for London, whose ultimate boss is…Sadiq Khan.
Despite his grand ambition to eradicate rough sleeping in the capital, Mayor Khan appears to have made little headway in the 18 months since he was re-elected – with charities describing the numbers on the streets now as ‘extremely high by historic standards’.
Anecdotal accounts suggest that there are more rough sleepers in central London than ever before – with more arriving every day.
And the three settlements in West, East and Central London reported above are simply the latest examples of their kind to spring up in what were previously prestigious areas of the capital – as the Mail has documented extensively.
These have recently included similar encampments made up of clusters of tents on Tottenham Court Road, behind the Savoy Hotel on the Strand, outside Grade I-listed Apsley House on the corner of Hyde Park and beside Westminster Cathedral.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s 2024 campaign pledge was to end homelessness in the capital
The causes of homelessness are notoriously complex but the single most common trigger is believed to be losing a job at short notice – and with most Britons having only the equivalent of a month’s salary in savings millions of people are in a potentially precarious position.
While those who arrive from overseas without an established support network are even more likely to end up on the streets if work falls through.
Certainly that was the experience of one of those we spoke to who has been living outside John Lewis on Oxford Street for more than three months.
This is located underneath the canopy of the famous West End store where, beneath a glittering display of consumer goods including £1,000-plus hifi equipment, a long line of makeshift beds now sits.
Romanian migrant John Ionut, 37, had initially made a relative success of his new life in England – having arrived here under the free movement rules before Brexit made this harder.
He rented accommodation in Wolverhampton and had what appeared to be a stable job washing up in nearby kitchens which he held down for several years – before becoming one of the many redundancies as the hospitality industry was hit hard by tax changes last year and costs spiralled.
With no savings, Mr Ionut quickly lost his flat as well as his job and then gravitated from the Midlands to London where – as many others have told us – he finds it safer to live among other homeless in prominent central locations.
Mr Ionut told the Daily Mail: ‘I used to work in a kitchen washing plates. But I lost my job and fell on hard times.
‘I’ve been living on the streets for a year. It’s very difficult for me. It’s not a good situation to be in.
Romanian migrant John Ionut, 37, had initially made a relative success of his new life in England – having arrived here under the free movement rules before Brexit made this harder
‘[But] this is a good spot to live, I’ve been here for months now.’
The festive window display that he camps under features a row of sparkling disco balls and music speakers – perhaps a nod to this year’s John Lewis Christmas advert which features a father who reminisces about his rave days after receiving a record from his sometimes distant son.
Mr Ionut continued: ‘It makes sense to be here with the cover above [the famous store’s canopy] from the weather – and the people are nice.
‘It’s definitely a safer place than many other areas. You have others to look out for you.’
Meanwhile tucked away behind the glistening lights of West End theatres and the Savoy Hotel lies another secret ‘tent village’ housing 30 homeless people.
In the shadow of the £800-a-night Adelphi, on London’s Strand, people from Britain and around the world are living in a street encampment.
The Grade II-listed building, home to publications including Vogue and GQ, creates a stark contrast with the series of tents and poverty outside.
Here there are migrants, men from Romania, Uganda, a woman from Germany and people from Scotland, northern England and the capital itself.
Tracy Wood, 42, is a former graphic designer born in Middlesborough who has lived at the site for the past six years.
She told the Mail: ‘Obviously it’s not ideal, but it could always be worse.
‘I moved down here when I was about 22 for work. I designed birthday and greeting cards.
‘About five, six years ago, I lost my job. Got in a bit of a situation, couldn’t pay my rent and ended up down here.
‘I’ve got good people around me, and there’s good organisations out there that are doing the best they can do to help the homeless.
‘There’s a fair amount of support here – that’s why I’ve stayed here.’
Tracy Wood, 42, is a former graphic designer born in Middlesborough who has lived at the site on central London’s Strand for the past six years
Some 67% of those living rough in the central London borough are believed to be from outside the UK according to a 2024 report from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities – a statistic which corresponds with Mr Ionut’s mostly Eastern European camp mates.
He now begs for handouts from shoppers visiting the famous branch which sits on the site of the very first John Lewis store, established in 1864, one of dozens of homeless men slumped on the pavement when we visited.
And the main obstacle to him getting back into mainstream society is his status as homeless, he says: without a conventional address he has struggled to convince employers and employment agencies that he is a fit candidate for work.
Mr Ionut explained: ‘I am legally able to work but I am struggling to find a job.’
Also in the display window above the Oxford Street pavement where he lives are mannequins draped in the latest season’s fashion – including faux fur coats, which rough sleepers might covet.
He went on: ‘It’s freezing cold here…I’m lucky to have blankets and there’s kind people who donate food to all of us. ‘
The father of two aspires to have more regular contact with his daughters once his circumstances have changed: ‘I’m hoping to get a job so I can get back on my feet again,’ he repeats.
But with each month spent on the streets a route to return to conventional employment and housing seems more elusive.
It is estimated there are upwards of 320,000 homeless people in Britain with Westminster – where the flagship John Lewis is situated – among the boroughs with the highest numbers.
According to Westminster’s own statistics, the borough has experienced an explosion in rough sleepers with the number having risen to 355 in one year alone – between June last year and this, an increase year on year of 25% and double the figure from 2021.
Tucked away behind the glistening lights of West End theatres and the Savoy Hotel in London lies a secret ‘tent village’ housing 30 homeless people
This is despite considerable provision of homeless support in central London, including day centres, soup kitchens and night shelters – but even these have had their controversies.
One centre for example, King George’s Hostel on Great Peter Street, close to the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, was the subject of a petition by local residents to have it shut down over claims of frequent fighting, often with weapons, as well as open drug use and vile waste left on doorsteps.
Jane Tkachenko, who started the petition wrote: ‘Everyone in our area is suffering….This is not an occasional nuisance, it is a daily threat to our well-being, dignity, and ability to live and work safely.’
David Harvey, a Conservative councillor at Westminster, told The Daily Mail, is among those who believes Sadiq Khsn is not doing enough to address the issue.
He said: ‘We have called on the mayor to provide more funding to tackle the issue in Westminster.
‘In the past year things have deteriorated so sharply that some churches and residents’ associations have paid for private security. There is a lot of desperation.
‘There is a private company which mounts security patrols and it’s an effective deterrent – they’re quite robust.
‘But if you look at the costs for residents and churches, it’s just not sustainable.’
He added: ‘Most rough sleepers are harmless and vulnerable, but a small minority who are violent and ongoing drug activity with substances such as spice have made people feel unsafe…
‘It’s not only for themselves, but also for the rough sleepers and the charity workers trying to help them.
‘Part of the issue is big hostels, which are not places for people to get better. People get lost and a lot of criminality and dealing goes on.
‘We want to move across to smaller units so tailored care can be given and provide these people with a better life.
Despite the Mayor’s bold pledge on tackling homelessness within five years, some believe that Khan’s policies are actually exacerbating it.
These critics point out that two sites of recurring encampments – that on the Edgware Road mentioned above and that on a strip of land along Park Lane – are both on land owned by Transport for London (TfL), which Khan is ultimately in charge of.
Tents pitched up at Edgware Road. The Labour government is set to repeal the Vagrancy Act – which has been in force since 1824 and under which rough sleeping is a criminal offence
And they claim that TfL is either too woke or too complacent to take serious steps to evict homeless people from these spots.
But TfL in turn points out that they have spent £37,000 addressing the Park Lane site alone in the last year – on costs like bailiffs and court orders – even though the ultimate responsibility lies with the council rather than the landowner.
Another complication is that next year the Labour government is set to repeal the Vagrancy Act – which has been in force since 1824 and under which rough sleeping and begging are criminal offences.
The stated intention is that the outdated law will be replaced with more fit-for-purpose laws in a new Crime and Policing Bill which will recognise issues like organised begging
But another counsellor at Westminster, Paul Swaddle, the Conservative Group Leader, is sceptical that this will improve things – unless new laws are implemented to tackle tent sites.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘Westminster should be a safe, clean and orderly city but Sadiq Khan and Labour have allowed parts of our city to be overtaken by ‘tent-cities’ that are fuelled by crime, anti-social behaviour, open drug use and weak enforcement.
‘I fully support the repeal [of the Vagrancy Act] as long as laws are brought in to tackle antisocial behaviour and crime – particularly the use of tents.
‘Without new laws the tent sites and the chaos they bring to the streets of London will grow unchecked.
‘We have already seen the impact of Labour’s soft approach in Westminster, with tent cities popping up across the city and remaining for many, many months unchallenged.
‘This is not about homelessness. It is about tent encampments that have become hotspots for anti-social behaviours and criminality.
‘Residents, workers and visitors increasingly report areas where drug dealing is operating openly, aggressive behaviour is commonplace and street drinking is left unchallenged.
‘Tents become bases for crime, not shelters. Public spaces are blocked, damaged or unsafe after dark.
‘Many of these sites are vulnerable people exploited, coerced or trapped in modern-day slavery. They deserve protection, not abandonment in dangerous encampments.
‘Labour talks tough, but their failure to enforce the law shows they have no meaningful commitment to protecting vulnerable people or law and order.
‘The reality is clear: Sadiq Khan and Labour have delivered lawless tent encampments, unsafe streets and a council that has lost control.’
But the issue affects London much more widely than just in Westminster.
More than 4,700 rough sleepers were counted on the whole city’s streets between July to September this year, according to Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) statistics.
In the east of London, at Royal Dock, for example, another cluster of homeless tents has sprung less than a minute’s drive from the Mayor’s London City Hall offices.
When we visited this week we witnessed rats foraging among the discarded blankets and carrier bags strewn across the site – which is only separated from the mayor’s office by a block of luxury new-build flats which start at £600,000.
One tent resident, a 37 year old British citizen, who asked not to be named, said he chose the location because he and others are not moved on by authorities there as happens at other locations.
Indicating the squalor in which he lives, he told us: ‘The migrants all get hotel rooms and TVs, I’m British but I’m too ill to work, so all I’ve got is this.’
But judging by what we found during our investigation, a vast number of migrants also end up sleeping rough.
Another camp visited by The Mail this week sits on the otherwise monied Edgware Road – where a cluster of more than 10 tents has been set up, sheltered underneath the Westway flyover close to the tube station.
It comprises several smaller tents around one larger improvised tarpaulin structure big enough to accommodate for several people.
Those living there are a mix of migrants of mostly Romani origin, a small number of British citizens and a handful of others, most of whom beg for money in the wider area.
Among their number is Wayne Williams, 64, who came to the UK from Grenada in the Caribbean 20 years ago – and who has been living in a tent here for three years.
Wayne Williams, 64, who came to the UK from Grenada in the Caribbean 20 years ago is camping under the flyover at Edgware Road. He has been living in a tent here since 2022
He said: ‘I used to work in construction, but then I came to the UK to see my mum and sister and then I fell on hard times.
‘I’ve lived here for three years. There is shelter from the rain and some people are kind enough to give donations.
‘I can’t work now. Nobody will hire me, so I beg for money around this area.
‘I fear for my safety but I am used to this way of life now. I’m worried about the winter and the extreme cold we’re already starting to have.
‘I’m stuck in the loop of living here.’
He’s right to worry: Homeless charity Crisis says the homeless are almost 17 times more likely to have been victims of violence than the general public.
More than one in three people sleeping rough have been deliberately hit or kicked or experienced some other form of violence while homeless, according to the charity.
And harrowing figures show that homeless people are over nine times more likely to take their own life than the general population.
While the average life expectancy for people experiencing homelessness is just 45 for men and a shocking 43 for women, according to the Office of National Statistics.
But the issue isn’t just confined to the centre of London – we also found camps this week in Finsbury Park, Tottenham and Edmonton in north London.
This ten has sprung up in we also found camps this week in Finsbury Park, north London. Figures show that homeless people are over nine times more likely to take their own life
In the former a number of tents were visible just weeks after an even larger encampment was moved on by the council.
While in nearby Tottenham, a large tent was pictured on a small parkland area which hundreds of commuters pass spot every day.
Another tent is pitched in Tottenham, north London. The average life expectancy for people experiencing homelessness is just 45 for men and a shocking 43 for women
Yet another site was spotted less than two miles away in Meridian Water, Edmonton, with a large shelter built on a traffic island from railings, cardboard and blankets.
Fiona Colley, director of social change at Homeless Link, said: ‘No-one should be exposed to the danger and trauma of rough sleeping.
‘Government needs to embrace a twin approach that breaks the cycle of rising homelessness.
‘We need an emergency response to levels of homelessness and rough sleeping which remain extremely high by historic standards, and to start building a system equipped to create a country free from homelessness.
‘The best solution to rough sleeping is to stop it happening in the first place. That’s true for the people who sit behind today’s statistics, but prevention is also the most cost-effective solution for government.
‘Preventing homelessness is everyone’s job: that’s why we need true cross-departmental accountability and responsibility on prevention to be baked into the new Homelessness Strategy.’
A Westminster Council spokesperson said: ‘In Westminster we have more people experiencing rough sleeping than any other part of the country – as the heart of the capital, new people appear on our streets every day.
‘Our teams are out on the streets seven days a week to offer help to those who will take it. People end up on the streets for complex reasons, but staying there isn’t an option.
‘The council is working with the Mayor’s rough sleeping team and landowners to address the encampment on Oxford Street which is not a safe place to live and is disruptive to local people.
‘We will continue to offer people support they need whether this is with housing, addiction, mental health problems to help them move away from homelessness.’
A TfL spokesperson said: ‘No one should be faced with sleeping rough on London’s streets.
‘We have been working closely with partners over many months to try to resolve the encampment at Marylebone Flyover compassionately and safely.
‘In order to ensure the safety and welfare of everyone involved, last month we applied for and were granted a possession order at the Central London County Court.
‘We continue to closely monitor the situation and are working through next steps with partners.’
And they pointed out that TfL has taken enforcement action at Park Lane.
People who have been sleeping rough at this site have been made aware that returning to the site is not an option and that they will be removed, they said.
And they pointed out that while TfL is a highway authority, it does not have a statutory responsibility to deal with homelessness which instead falls to the relevant local authority.
A John Lewis spokesperson said: ‘We’re monitoring this closely, and have been working with local authorities to find the best outcome for all involved.’
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: ‘The Mayor has made clear that no one should have to sleep rough on our streets.
‘Under his leadership, more than 18,000 people have been helped off the streets, but there’s much more to do.
‘That’s why Sadiq has launched a bold new Plan of Action to end rough sleeping for good by 2030 and has provided record funding from City Hall.
‘Earlier this year the Mayor announced the biggest ever single investment of £10million to tackle homelessness to support those most at risk of sleeping rough.
‘Sadiq will continue to work closely with the Government, London councils and the homelessness sector to tackle this crisis as we continue building a fairer London for everyone.’
The deputy leader of Haringey Council, councillor Sarah Williams, said: ‘The safety and welfare of all residents and those experiencing homelessness remains a top priority for Haringey Council and our partners.
‘We are working closely with the police, the voluntary and community sector (VCS) and colleagues across the council to address the complex challenges of rough sleeping and associated safety issues.
‘Although rough sleeping has risen across London, Haringey has achieved a notable reduction thanks to a wide range of interventions.
‘Through commissioned and directly delivered supported housing, proactive outreach, and coordinated enforcement, we have successfully decreased the number of people sleeping rough in the borough.’
Crisis says it wants the public to understand the ‘devastating, dangerous and isolating’ impact of living on the street.
Newham Council was also contacted for comment.
