CHARITIES condemned the government’s assault on the welfare state yesterday after new research found that foodbanks handed out more than 20 million meals last year.

“Cuts to social security since April 2013 have had a severe impact on poor and vulnerable families across the UK,” said the Below the Breadline report by foodbank charity The Trussell Trust, Oxfam and Church Action on Poverty.

“These cuts have been coupled with an increasingly strict and often misapplied sanctions regime — many people needlessly suffer a loss of income through no fault of their own.”