def clean_whitespace(statement):
    """
    Remove any consecutive whitespace characters from the statement text.
    """
    import re

    # Replace linebreaks and tabs with spaces
    statement.text = statement.text.replace('\n', ' ').replace('\r', ' ').replace('\t', ' ')

    # Remove any leeding or trailing whitespace
    statement.text = statement.text.strip()

    # Remove consecutive spaces
    statement.text = re.sub(' +', ' ', statement.text)

    return statement
Remove any consecutive whitespace characters from the statement text.