I'll be pressing Starmer to axe two-child limit

Sarwar to confront UK leader over ‘rape clause’

- PAUL HUTCHEON

ANAS Sarwar has piled pressure on Keir Starmer to scrap the two-child benefit limit if his party gains power.

The Scottish Labour leader put himself at odds with Starmer and said he would press the UK leader to axe the controversial policy.

Enacted by ex-Tory chancellor George Osborne in 2015, it limits access to means-tested benefits to the first two children in a family.

Victims of sexual assault have to prove they have been raped to get benefits for a third child, an intrusion dubbed the “rape clause”.

Although Starmer promised to scrap it when he ran for leader, he U-turned in a weekend interview and said he’d retain the cap.

His comments infuriated senior figures in Scottish Labour who have long campaigned to overturn the restriction.

Sarwar said: “Scottish Labour policy hasn’t changed. We continue to oppose the two-child limit. We continue to believe it exacerbates poverty, and we continue to believe that it needs to change.