Rachel Reeves dealt huge £3bn blow by Labour ministers ahead of Budget

Sir Keir Starmer is set to face fresh pressure to scrap the two-child benefit cap. A group of Cabinet ministers and officials looking at child poverty will recommend axing the policy as the best way to tackle the issue.

The recommendations from the child poverty taskforce are expected before the Chancellor delivers her autumn budget on November 26, according to The Times. It will pose a dilemma for the Prime Minister and Rachel Reeves as she attempts to balance the books as lifting the cap would cost an estimated £3 billion a year.

The controversial policy restricts child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children in most households.

But the cap, which was introduced by the Tories, has been repeatedly criticised by anti-poverty campaigners.

Sir Keir has faced ongoing pressure over the two-child benefit cap from Labour MPs and other figures within the party.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, widely seen as a potential successor to the PM, has called for it to be ditched.

It comes after a report by the influential Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank said that scrapping the measure would be "one of the most effective ways" to reduce child poverty.

But it also concluded that the policy currently has "no adverse impact on children's development as measured by their teachers at the end of the reception year".