While Philip Hammond used his statement on Wednesday to commit £100m to fund police over-time to help tackle knife crime in England, the Christian charity said more needed to be done to help the most vulnerable in society.

“We’re disappointed by today’s Spring Statement, which does not end austerity as promised. The Chancellor has missed a real opportunity to do the right thing and give people on the lowest incomes financial support and certainty before Brexit.

“Our benefits system was created to make sure proper support would be in place for each other when help was most needed. But right now, more and more people across Britain are struggling to make ends meet, unable to afford food and facing hunger as a result. This isn’t right.

“We have seen a record demand in food bank use – our network gave out 1.3 million three-day parcels in the last year, a 13 per cent increase in need. The key driver for this rise was incomes not covering the cost of essentials – and the majority of these incomes came through benefits.”

His comments were echoed by Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell who listed to MPs what he sees as the government’s failures.

“Schools close early and their children are sent home, the Labour MP said.

“5,000 of our fellow citizens will be sleeping in the cold and wet on the street tonight.

“Young people are being…

Flight instructor Steven Chanter was in the air with a student pilot when the plane’s engine began to fail and the oil pressure dropped.

Chanter told WOOD-TV that he took over flying and had little time to decide where to land the plane as he didn’t think they would make it to a nearby airport in the village Sparta.

He managed to fly the plane under traffic lights at an intersection and land on state highway 37.

“Truly, God’s watching over us,” Chanter said.

No one was injured during the emergency landing.

The plane has been removed from the highway.

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The member for Peterborough travelled to Parliament to vote against the Prime Minister’s Brexit deal.

Ms Onasanya has faced calls to step down and allow a by-election to take place in her constituency – but has refused, and has maintained her innocence throughout her prosecution.

Ms Onasnaya was found guilty in December of perverting the course of justice and sentenced to three months in jail in January.

The 35-year-old solicitor, who was elected as a Labour MP, served less than four weeks for lying about who was driving her car when it was caught speeding in July 2017.

She served her sentence at HMP Bronzefield in Surrey and was released on 26th February.

If she had been sentenced to twelve months or more, she would have lost her parliamentary seat.

Ms Onasanya submitted an appeal against her conviction, but it was thrown out by judge Sir Brian Leveson at the Royal Courts of Justice last week.

That decision enabled the House of Commons Speaker John Bercow to begin the formal process for a recall petition, which will allow her constituents to trigger a by-election if more than 10 per cent of local voters sign it.

Ms Onasanya would still be able to stand as a candidate if a by-election was triggered. 

The recall petition will be open for six weeks from 19th March until 1st May.

Ms Onasanya won the seat in the 2017…

Victoria state County Court Chief Judge Peter Kidd ordered Cardinal George Pell to serve a minimum of three years and eight months before he is eligible for parole.

Each of the five convictions against Pell carried a maximum possible sentence of 10 years each.

“In my view, your conduct was permeated by staggering arrogance,” the judge said in handing down the sentence.

Pope Francis’ former finance minister had been convicted by a unanimous jury verdict in December of orally raping a 13-year-old choirboy and indecently dealing with the boy and the boy’s 13-year-old friend in the late 1990s, months after Pell became archbishop of Melbourne.

A court order had suppressed media reporting the news until last month.

The 77-year-old denies the allegations and will appeal his convictions in the Victoria Court of Appeal on June 5.

In explaining his sentencing decision, the judge said Pell had led an “otherwise blameless life”.

He said he believed given Pell’s age and lack of any other criminal record, the cardinal posed no risk of re-offending.

The judge also took pains to note that he was sentencing Pell for the offences on which the cardinal had been convicted – and not for the sins of the Catholic Church.

“As I directed the jury who convicted you in this trial, you are not to be made a scapegoat for any failings or perceived…