Give money to beggars... Even if they're going to spend it on booze and drugs, says Richard Gere

Richard Gere (pictured), 66, said people should hand cash to beggars

Richard Gere has said people should hand cash to beggars even if they are going to use the money to buy drugs and alcohol.

The Hollywood star, 66, said the 'moment of compassion' that comes with giving money 'heals' both people and is more important than trying to wean homeless people off their addictions.

But the actor was criticised by campaigners last night who branded his comments 'luvvie drivel' and said they would lead to more deaths on the streets.

They called on Gere, best known for films such as Pretty Woman, to attend the funerals of beggars who die because of their addictions to explain to their grieving families how giving them money was 'healing'.

The American, reportedly worth £71million, told Radio 4's Today programme that people who do not give money are 'stingy' and dismissed the advice of charities who call on people to stop handing out cash.

He added: 'The reality is compassion is part of community. That's how we're all retrievable. It doesn't matter what they do with the money.

'The generosity from our side of giving it heals us, them understanding that this is a genuine act of generosity heals them. It's not up to us to tell them what they should do with that money?'

Pressed on if he felt comfortable about this money being used to buy drugs and alcohol, he added: 'The compassionate moment is more important.'

He added that he has 'friends' on the street in New York who are scared to go to homeless shelters because, 'there are gangs in there, they get shaken down, they get ripped off, they get intimidated. It's safer for them they feel to be on the streets.' He did not say whether he allows them to stay in any of the multiple homes he reportedly owns.

However, Jeremy Swain, chief executive of charity Thames Reach, took exception to his comments and posted on Twitter: 'Rarely heard worse luvvie drivel than Richard Gere saying giving money to someone begging 'the generosity heals them' Richard it kills them'.

He then added to the Mail yesterday: 'Why not cut out the middle person and just give money straight to the drug dealer? It's that certain.

'He talks about how giving money is a healing process both for the giver and for the person receiving the money. 

Hollywood star Gere (right, on Jonathan Ross show) said giving money to the homeless is better than trying to wean them off their addictions

But Gere (left and right) came under fire from campaigners who branded his comments 'luvvie drivel'

'Now, all I would say to that is, he can go in my place to the funerals of the people we see dying through drug overdoses where begging is a contributing factor and explain to the families how that giving became a healing process for their son, daughter, father, mother.'

Gere was formerly married to Cindy Crawford when she was just 25 and is now dating Spanish socialite Alejandra Silva, 32.

He is currently promoting a film called Time Out Of Mind, in which he plays a homeless man in New York. It was shot largely using hidden cameras, to see how real people on the street would react to him. He has also been an active campaigner on homeless issues, working with charities such as Centrepoint.

Mr Swain, who has worked to tackle homelessness for 35 years, said the 'reckless' interview undermines the work done by more than 30 charities nationwide who have called on people not to give money to beggars.

He added: 'For him to talk about giving money to people on the street being an act of generosity that heals them, it is very difficult to stomach. 

They urged the Pretty Woman star to attend the funerals of beggars who were addicted to drugs (file photo of homeless person)

'What we see is that the connection is largely between drug use and begging, not homelessness and begging, all the police statistics show that.

'He's made my life more difficult but more importantly he's made the lives of the outreach workers on the street more difficult and most importantly he's putting more people at risk by saying this.'

Official figures show that only one in five beggars in England and Wales are homeless and that as many as 80 percent of beggars arrested are found to have drugs such as heroin in their systems.