Liberty, a leading human rights group, is urging Nottingham City Council to scrap ‘cruel’ proposals which could criminalise the area’s most vulnerable people. Liberty said the council’s proposed Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) ‘punishes charitable acts in a bid to airbrush their streets’; the proposals would ‘essentially ban homelessness’, in a move which ignores Home Office guidance. PSPOs are drawn up by local councils to prevent anti-social behaviour, deemed detrimental to the area’s quality of life. Nottingham plans to prohibit members of the public from making ‘unauthorised requests’ for money, personal items, or other donations, and would also ban obstruction of building entrances and exits. It could be a criminal offence to give out free items to someone unknown. Those in breach of the PSPO could be fined up to £100, and offenders could be prosecuted if unable to pay.