CHANCELLOR Philip Hammond has been accused of “living in a different world” after he refused to recognise that millions of Britain’s people are mired in poverty.

Mr Hammond rejected the conclusion of a report by Philip Alston, the United Nations rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, that the poor in this country number 14 million.

The report also found that 1.5 million are “destitute” and accused the government of pursuing a “punitive, mean-spirited and often callous” agenda.