Responding to the report into extreme poverty and human rights in the UK released today by Professor Philip Alston, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Allan Hogarth, Head of Advocacy and Programmes at Amnesty International UK, said:

“The UN Special Rapporteur’s report brings into sharp contrast how millions of people in the UK are struggling to access some of their most basic human rights.

"It is evident through this report that successive UK governments have failed those most in need through a series of damaging policies. This report must be seen as a wake-up call.

“Amnesty has repeatedly warned that relentless cuts to legal aid have left thousands of society’s most vulnerable people without essential support. That is neither fair nor sustainable.

“The report also shows that women’s rights are disproportionately impacted by poverty. Single mothers and women from marginalised communities are the hardest hit by cuts to social services, low-wage work, unaffordable care and welfare reforms. We are calling on the government to immediately repeal policies that are directly discriminating against women.

“It’s time the UK addressed the corrosive impact of policies and practice that are denying people some of their most basic human rights.”