The social justice secretary has called on chancellor Rachel Reeves to remove the two-child limit and benefit cap, saying such policies should be “confined to the darkest days of austerity”.

Shirley-Anne Somerville has urged the UK Government to take such action to tackle child poverty in its forthcoming Budget.

She was speaking ahead of a series of meetings in London on Friday with child poverty charities.

Somerville said: “Once again, I am making it clear that the UK Government must fully scrap the two-child limit and the benefit cap as soon as possible. These policies should be confined to the darkest days of austerity and the UK Budget must bring this period to an end.

“In a country as rich as ours, no child should have to live in poverty. The UK social security system is supposed

See Full Page