Some homeless 'choose to sleep on the streets'

Shelter director Chris Holmes insisted the organisation would not shy away from controversy by admitting that there are those who beg, abuse drugs and choose to sleep on the streets - rather than defending them as they had in the past.

Criticising the voluntary sector's reliance on short term "firefighting" he said: "We have, to a large extent, failed to identify ways of preventing people ending up on the street in the first place."

Speaking at a Labour conference fringe session, Holmes added: "We need to be more up front about the more complex - and controversial - issues around begging, substance abuse and the minority of people whose personality disorders can result in disturbing, sometimes frightening, behaviour."

He went on: "We have at times denied that anyone ever chose to be on the street and failed to be honest. The reality is some people will choose."

He added that the voluntary sector and government should instead establish the "root causes" that encourage people to choose to sleep rough. "A place to live may only be part of the solution."

Last year, Holmes sparked controversy at the same conference by claiming that the homelessness sector itself had contributed to the growth of social exclusion.

And last month the charity abandoned its calls for councils to provide permanent accommodation for homeless people - instead, it said, they should "secure suitable accommodation" for them, and "take reasonable steps to prevent the loss of that accommodation".