A fresh war of words has erupted in the Labour deputy leadership race over moves to scrap the two-child benefit cap.

Education secretary Bridget Phillipson took a swipe at her rival Lucy Powell as she urged Rachel Reeves to scrap the hated Tory policy.

HuffPost UK revealed last month that Keir Starmer has already decided to scrap the cap, with the chancellor preparing to announce it when she delivers her Budget on November 26 .

Phillipson said that she, rather than Powell, had been leading moves inside government to tackle child poverty.

On Sky News, Phillipson repeatedly stressed that she could put pressure on the chancellor to scrap the benefit cap from inside government – a clear reference to the fact that Powell is no longer in the cabinet after being sacked as Commons

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