Idris Elba slams Tory housing benefits cuts at Skepta charity gig

Skepta played a special show in London last night (4 April) in aid of homeless charity Shelter.

When introducing the Mercury prize winner to the stage, actor Idris Elba spoke passionately about the housing crisis in the capital.

“It’s 2017, there’s 850 people here tonight but there’s like at least 1,000 men and women on the streets tonight,” Elba told the crowd, “That’s fuckery.”

He directly talked about the government “trying to take away” housing allowances and encouraged the audience to sign Shelter’s petition, telling them, “We have one of the strongest currencies in the world, why do we have 60,000 women and single mothers homeless that’s fuckery, that’s bullshit.”

Jme, Shorty and ASAP Rocky also appeared at Skepta’s gig. Skepta later shared the news on Instagram that the show raised over £30k for the charity.

Watch Elba’s speech in full below and find out more about Shelter’s mission here.