More than one in three children in poverty as UK deprivation hits record high

An extra 260,000 children are on the breadline since before the Covid pandemic. Photograph: Orlando Britain/Alamy

More than one in three children and a quarter of adults are living in poverty in the UK as deprivation levels rise to the highest in the 21st century, according to a landmark report.

The study by the Social Metrics Commission (SMC), which uses measures recently adopted by the UK government, found the cost of living crisis had plunged 2 million more people into severe hardship since 2019.