UK Gov't Ministers 'in State Of Denial' Over 'Major Challenge' Of National Poverty - UN

The UK government is in a state of denial over escalating poverty rates, with a fifth of the population now believed to be in need of support, Philip Alston, the UN's special rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, told a press conference in London.

LONDON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th November, 2018) The UK government is in a state of denial over escalating poverty rates, with a fifth of the population now believed to be in need of support, Philip Alston, the UN's special rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, told a press conference in London.

Alston's statement marked the culmination of an official visit to the United Kingdom at the invitation of the UK government.

"The main thrust of my report is to contrast the great prosperity in Britain, (the) fifth largest economy ... one of the leading financial capitals in the world ... a thriving industrial and financial center ... contrasted with the fact that a fifth of the population, fourteen million people, are living in poverty ... What I found in my discussions with [UK] ministers is basically a state of denial.

The ministers with whom I met told me that things are going well. That they don't see any big problems and that they are happy with the way their policies are working out," Alston said on Friday.

Having visited multiple locales from food banks to schools and community centers, the UN rapporteur concluded that already sizable poverty rates were set to increase, with children being a particular point of concern.

"I don't see that the (government's) motivation has been to create a compassionate, a more caring benefits system and one that actually produces better life outcomes for people," Alston added.

In June, the UK-based charity Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) said in a report that over 1.5 million people in the United Kingdom, including 365,000 children, were driven into destitution in 2017.