JUSTIN WELBY has condemned the two-child benefit cap as cruel as he urged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to commit to scrapping it.

The Archbishop of Canterbury said the limit was “neither moral nor necessary” and it “falls short of our values as a society.”

Mr Sunak has committed to keep the policy if the Tories remain in power after the general election; Sir Keir has so far resisted calls to scrap it despite claiming ending child poverty is central to his plans for government.

The cap, introduced in 2017, restricts child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children in most households.

Mr Welby said: “The two-child limit falls short of our values as a society. It denies the truth that all children are of equal and immeasurable worth and will have an impact on their long-term health, well-being and educational outcomes.”

His intervention will increase pressure on Sir Keir to act if Labour comes into power.

The Labour leader was challenged on his position when he launched his plan for the party’s first steps in office last week. He said tackling child poverty was “central to an incoming Labour government” but “what I can’t do is make promises that I can’t deliver on.”

But the archbishop said: “This cruel policy is neither moral nor necessary. We are a country that can and should provide for those most in need, following the example of Jesus Christ, who served the poorest in society.

“As a meaningful step towards ending poverty, and recognising the growing concern across the political spectrum, I urge all parties to commit to abolishing the two-child limit.”