Homeless man who died yards from Parliament applied for a job the week before

Portuguese national, whose body was found on in Exit 3 of Westminster tube station, was in his forties and had been looking for work days before he died

The Portuguese man died yards from an entrance to Parliament, and had been looking for work days before (May Bulman)

A homeless man who died in an underpass just beneath Parliament was a former model who had applied to be a waiter the week before.

The Portuguese national, whose body was found on Wednesday morning in Exit 3 of Westminster tube station, was in his forties, according to the Connection at St Martin-in the-fields, a charity that had been supporting him.

He was being helped to find work and despite having “complex circumstances”, he enjoyed singing and regularly attended yoga classes, the charity said.

An MP who used to pass him on a daily basis said the fact the rough sleeper had applied for work just a week before his death was a reflection of a “mass rise in in-work poverty” across the UK.

Neil Coyle, Labour MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark, which neighbours Westminster, said: “The saddest thing is that he had applied for work just a week before.

“I’ve seen a cleaner who was sleeping on the night bus, another who was doing sexual favours to get by. And this is a man who was sleeping rough, who was serious about work.

“It’s definitely a growing problem. We’ve had eight years of growth in homelessness in all its forms, some of which are more visible than others. And there are many, many people in work caught up in that.

“It’s growing. There are warm words from the Government, but having this happen at Westminster has highlighted the extent of the problem to a greater degree, and the complete lack of attention from central government.”

Pam Orchard, chief executive of The Connection, told The Independent: “We are very concerned about the increase in the number of rough sleeper deaths.

“And because rough sleeping is going up so much, it’s inevitable that we’re seeing more deaths. The longer people sleep rough, the more their physical and mental health is likely to deteriorate.”

The man was pronounced dead just before 7:30am despite attempts by outreach services attempted to give him CPR until paramedics and police arrived.

A spokesperson for St Mungo's, whose outreach services found the man’s body, said: “We are very sad about the death of the man at Westminster yesterday. Our sympathies are with the person's family and friends.”

Westminster City Council has described the incident as a “very sad incident” and pledged they would work with police to establish the cause of death.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said the death was being treated as “unexplained but not suspicious”. A file will now be prepared for the coroner.