A man found dead near Parliament was a former model, a homelessness charity has said.

The Connection at St Martin’s said the dead man, who it did not name, was a Portuguese national who had also worked in the hospitality industry.

He was discovered in an underpass at Westminster Underground station shortly after 7.30am on February 14.

The death, just yards from the Palace of Westminster, prompted some MPs to demand more action to tackle homelessness.

Connection said the man was a “client” who had stayed in its emergency night centre for some time.

He was being helped to find a job, applying for a job as a waiter as recently as last week and while he had “complex circumstances” he “enjoyed singing and regularly attended yoga classes”.

The charity’s chief executive, Pam Orchard, said: “Everyone who is homeless is someone’s son or brother or dad.

“He had strengths, talents and skills but he also had problems and things went very wrong for him. The support shown by the wider public for him and his situation has been very moving.”

Scotland Yard said the man’s death was being treated as unexplained, but not suspicious.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was among those who sent flowers to the underpass where he was found.

After his death was discovered on Wednesday, shadow education secretary Angela Rayner wrote on Twitter: “A homeless man who was seen frequently at the tube entrance to Portcullis House Westminster underground station has been found dead today.

“Whatever the circumstances it’s a terrible tragedy that somebody ends their days like this, the govt must do more to combat homelessness.”

Her fellow Labour MP Neil Coyle said: “I’ve been told that the man who died on Parliament’s doorstep this morning was homeless. What an appalling indictment of Government failure.”

He tweeted: “When a homeless man dies on the Government’s doorstep, ministers must stop ignoring the problem and commit to end rough sleeping.”