UN poverty envoy tells Britain it is ‘worst time’ to bring in austerity

Exclusive: Olivier de Schutter says cuts could violate human rights laws, calling instead for higher taxes on rich

The United Nations' poverty envoy has warned Rishi Sunak that unleashing a new wave of austerity in this month's budget could violate the UK's international human rights obligations and increase hunger and malnutrition.

Olivier de Schutter, the UN rapporteur on extreme poverty, said he was extremely troubled" by likely multibillion-pound spending cuts - including possible real-terms reductions in welfare payments to millions of the nation's poorest families.