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Suella Braverman is facing a backlash after controversial comments she made while promoting policies to crack down on rough sleeping.

The home secretary wants to restrict the use of tents by homeless people in UK towns and cities.

Here’s what Mrs Braverman said, what aspects of her comments have caused outrage – and some of the responses she received from fellow politicians.

What Ms Braverman said on X

The home secretary’s statement, which she shared on X on Saturday, read: “The British people are compassionate. We will always support those who are genuinely homeless.

“But we cannot allow our streets to be taken over by rows of tents occupied by people, many of them from abroad, living on the streets as a lifestyle choice.

“Unless we step in now to stop this, British cities will go the way of places in the US like San Francisco and Los Angeles, where weak policies have led to an explosion of crime, drug taking, and squalor.

“Nobody in Britain should be living in a tent on our streets. There are options for people who don’t want to be sleeping rough, and the government is working with local authorities to strengthen wraparound support including treatment for those with drug and alcohol addiction.

More on Homelessness

“What I want to stop, and what the law abiding majority wants us to stop, is those who cause nuisance and distress to other people by pitching tents in public spaces, aggressively begging, stealing, taking drugs, littering, and blighting our communities.”

What the home secretary told Sky News

Speaking exclusively to Sky News’ Ali Fortescue on Saturday, Mrs Braverman further explained her plans to stop homeless people sleeping in tents.

Ali Fortescue: “Let’s talk about reports that you’re planning on restricting homeless people from using tents. Why is that something you’re looking at?”

Suella Braverman: “Listen, the British people are a compassionate nation and of course we must do everything necessary to support those who are genuinely homeless.

“But at the same time, we must make sure we don’t go down the same route as some cities in the US, like San Francisco or Seattle where living in a tent has become a lifestyle choice, and with it has brought drug use, criminality and antisocial behaviour.”

Ali Fortescue: “You talk about a lifestyle choice… surely this is something people do out of desperation, not a lifestyle choice?

Suella Braverman: “As I said, we will help those who are genuinely homeless.

“It cannot be right that parts of our cities are ruined and blighted by the sight and use of tents.

“There is no need to use tents for accommodation in 21st century Britain. It brings criminality, it brings drug use, it brings in many instances violence to communities.”

The backlash

Lots of people with experiences of homelessness and rough sleeping shared their views on social media, pointing out that rather than lifestyle choice, they had suddenly found themselves without anywhere to live after falling behind on bills or losing their jobs.

Housing and homelessness charity, Shelter, released a statement in opposition to the home secretary’s comments.

It read: “Let’s make it clear: living on the streets is not a ‘lifestyle choice’ – it is a sign of failed government policy.

“No one should be punished for being homeless. Criminalising people for sleeping in tents, and making it an offence for charities to help them, is unacceptable.

“The housing emergency boils down to people not being able to afford to live anywhere. The current scenario:

  • Private rents are at an all-time high
  • Evictions are rising
  • And the cost of living crisis continues

“This, combined with decades of government failure to build genuinely affordable social homes, is what is driving record levels of homelessness and leaving thousands of people on the streets.

“The government promised to end rough sleeping, but is falling short of the mark.”

The government’s energy secretary Claire Coutinho appeared to distance herself from Mrs Braverman’s comments, telling Kay Burley this morning she “wouldn’t necessarily use the language of ‘lifestyle choice’ because the reasons for homelessness are “complex and varied”.

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Energy secretary Claire Coutinho comments on Suella Braverman’s description of rough sleeping

Ms Coutinho said Mrs Braverman had in her comments “distinguished that a lot of people who end up in that position are struggling, for example, with addiction issues”.

“And she wasn’t talking about those people,” she added.

“I think the most important thing is that for all of those people, what we want is for them to have a warm home, a roof over their heads.

“Because ultimately sleeping on the streets, becoming entrenched in that lifestyle, that’s no life for anyone.”

Pressed on whether Mrs Braverman “misspoke”, the energy secretary replied: “So I think she was talking about different things.

“She acknowledged that there are people who just, you know, they need our compassion. They’re struggling with things like addiction. They need help and support. And that’s exactly what the plans are, by the way.

“But she also talked about people, I think, who are nuisance begging who are working in organised groups.

“And I think it’s right that we make sure that we’re getting people off the streets into safe accommodation and also making sure that our neighbourhoods feel safe for people as well.”

Responding to the home secretary’s initial tweets, Labour MP Jess Phillips said: “My brother was a rough sleeper, unlike Suella Braverman he has dedicated his life in gratitude to the fact he still has it to the service and help of others.

“He’d be a better home secretary than her but then again a cardboard box would be a better home secretary than her.”

Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael said: “This is grim politics from a desperate Conservative government which knows its day are numbered.

“It is a new low for Braverman to criminalise homeless charities for simply trying to keep vulnerable people warm and dry in winter.

“The British public raise millions of pounds for homeless people at this time of year, and the government’s response is to criminalise those charities trying to help.

“This policy will do nothing to stop rough sleeping and will leave vulnerable people to face the harsh weather conditions without any shelter whatsoever.”

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Labour suspends MP Dan Norris after arrest

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Labour MP Dan Norris arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences

The Labour Party has suspended its MP Dan Norris after “being informed of his arrest”.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Dan Norris MP was immediately suspended by the Labour Party upon being informed of his arrest.

“We cannot comment further while the police investigation is ongoing.”

Mr Norris defeated Jacob Rees-Mogg to win the new seat of North East Somerset and Hanham in last year’s general election.

He has also lost the party whip in the House of Commons.

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Satoshi Nakamoto turns 50 as Bitcoin becomes US reserve asset

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Satoshi Nakamoto turns 50 as Bitcoin becomes US reserve asset

Satoshi Nakamoto turns 50 as Bitcoin becomes US reserve asset

Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, marks their 50th birthday amid a year of rising institutional and geopolitical adoption of the world’s first cryptocurrency.

The identity of Nakamoto remains one of the biggest mysteries in crypto, with speculation ranging from cryptographers like Adam Back and Nick Szabo to broader theories involving government intelligence agencies.

While Nakamoto’s identity remains anonymous, the Bitcoin (BTC) creator is believed to have turned 50 on April 5 based on details shared in the past.

According to archived data from his P2P Foundation profile, Nakamoto once claimed to be a 37-year-old man living in Japan and listed his birthdate as April 5, 1975.

Satoshi Nakamoto turns 50 as Bitcoin becomes US reserve asset

Source: Web.archive.org

Nakamoto’s anonymity has played a vital role in maintaining the decentralized nature of the Bitcoin network, which has no central authority or leadership.

The Bitcoin wallet associated with Nakamoto, which holds over 1 million BTC, has laid dormant for more than 16 years despite BTC rising from $0 to an all-time high above $109,000 in January.

Satoshi Nakamoto turns 50 as Bitcoin becomes US reserve asset

Satoshi Nakamoto statue in Lugano, Switzerland. Source: Cointelegraph

Nakamoto’s 50th birthday comes nearly a month after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile, marking the first major step toward integrating Bitcoin into the US financial system.

Related: Bitcoin at 16: From experiment to trillion-dollar asset

Nakamoto’s legacy: a “cornerstone of economic sovereignty”

At 50, Nakamoto’s legacy is no longer just code; it’s a cornerstone of economic sovereignty,” according to Anndy Lian, author and intergovernmental blockchain expert.

“Bitcoin’s reserve status signals trust in its scarcity and resilience,” Lian told Cointelegraph, adding: 

“What’s fascinating is the timing. Fifty feels symbolic — half a century of life, mirrored by Bitcoin’s journey from a white paper to a trillion-dollar asset. Nakamoto’s vision of trustless, peer-to-peer money has outgrown its cypherpunk roots, entering the halls of power.”

However, lingering questions about Nakamoto remain unanswered, including whether they still hold the keys to their wallet, which is “a fortune now tied to US policy,” Lian said.

Related: Bitcoin’s next catalyst: End of $36T US debt ceiling suspension

Is Satoshi Nakamoto wealthier than Bill Gates?

In February, Arkham Intelligence published findings that attribute 1.096 million BTC — then valued at more than $108 billion — to Nakamoto. That would place him above Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on the global wealth rankings, according to data shared by Coinbase director Conor Grogan.

Satoshi Nakamoto turns 50 as Bitcoin becomes US reserve asset

Satoshi’s new addresses. Source: Conor Grogan

If accurate, this would make Nakamoto the world’s 16th richest person.

Despite the growing interest in Nakamoto’s identity and holdings, his early decision to remain anonymous and inactive has helped preserve Bitcoin’s decentralized ethos — a principle that continues to define the cryptocurrency to this day.

Magazine: 10 crypto theories that missed as badly as ‘Peter Todd is Satoshi’

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Wall Street’s one-day loss tops the entire crypto market cap

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Wall Street’s one-day loss tops the entire crypto market cap

Wall Street’s one-day loss tops the entire crypto market cap

The United States stock market lost more in value over the April 4 trading day than the entire cryptocurrency market is worth, as fears over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs continue to ramp up.

On April 4, the US stock market lost $3.25 trillion — around $570 billion more than the entire crypto market’s $2.68 trillion valuation at the time of publication.

Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market”

Among the Magnificent-7 stocks, Tesla (TSLA) led the losses on the day with a 10.42% drop, followed by Nvidia (NVDA) down 7.36% and Apple (AAPL) falling 7.29%, according to TradingView data.

The significant decline across the board signals that the Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market” after falling 6% across the trading day, trading resource account The Kobeissi Letter said in an April 4 X post. This is the largest daily decline since March 16, 2020.

“US stocks have now erased a massive -$11 TRILLION since February 19 with recession odds ABOVE 60%,” it added. The Kobessi Letter said Trump’s April 2 tariff announcement was “historic” and if the tariffs continue, a recession will be “impossible to avoid.”

Nasdaq, United States, Stocks

Source: Anthony Scaramucci

On April 2, Trump signed an executive order establishing reciprocal tariffs on trading partners and a 10% baseline tariff on all imports from all countries.

Trump said the reciprocal tariffs will be roughly half the rate US trading partners impose on American goods.

Related: Bitcoin bulls defend $80K support as ‘World War 3 of trade wars’ crushes US stocks

Meanwhile, the crypto industry has pointed out that while the stock market continues to decline, Bitcoin (BTC) remains stronger than most expected.

Crypto trader Plan Markus pointed out in an April 4 X post that while the entire stock market “is tanking,” Bitcoin is holding.

Nasdaq, United States, Stocks

Source: Jeff Dorman

Even some crypto skeptics have pointed out the contrast between Bitcoin’s performance and the US stock market during the recent period of macro uncertainty.

Stock market commentator Dividend Hero told his 203,200 X followers that he has “hated on Bitcoin in the past, but seeing it not tank while the stock market does is very interesting to me.”

Meanwhile, technical trader Urkel said Bitcoin “doesn’t appear to care one bit about tariff wars and markets tanking.” Bitcoin is trading at $83,749 at the time of publication, down 0.16% over the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Magazine: XRP win leaves Ripple a ‘bad actor’ with no crypto legal precedent set

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