LONDON, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- A homeless man was found dead on the British parliament's doorstep this morning, British newspaper Daily Mail reported Wednesday in an online story.

The man was discovered in Westminster underground station by the back entrance to the Palace of Westminster, which British politicians and their staff walk through every day, according to the report.

Temperatures plunged to -2.1 Celsius degrees in the areas last night, and many homeless people use the station to get shelter from the freezing temperatures outside.

Politicians said they were horrified at the news of the tragedy, and said it should serve as a wake-up call to do more to combat the rising numbers of rough sleepers.

A House of Commons spokesman said: "We are saddened to hear of the death of an individual this morning at Westminster Tube Station and offer our condolences to their friends and family at this difficult time."

A spokeswoman for the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: "The Mayor was deeply saddened to hear about the death of a man at Westminster Tube station earlier today."

Figures released last month found that more people are sleeping rough on the streets of England than at any point this decade, with numbers rocketing 73 percent since 2014, according to another newspaper London Evening Standard.

Local authorities estimated there were around 4,751 rough sleepers on a single night in autumn 2017, according to data from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government -- the highest number since comparable records began in 2010.