A campaign has been launched by End Hunger UK asking ministers to ‘fix’ Universal Credit.

It wants the government to create a more flexible system for claimants applying and for those already receiving the benefit.

The Bishop of Durham, Paul Butler (pictured below), the Church’s lead bishop on welfare issues, said: “We need urgent action to improve the flexibility and support for people on Universal Credit, and a long-term commitment that the social security system will provide enough income for them to afford to feed themselves and their families properly.

“Without such action, we can expect to see more and more people turning to food banks and becoming trapped in poverty.

“The problems we are seeing with Universal Credit at church-run food banks across the country must be resolved before many more people are moved on to the new benefit.”

It comes as reports suggest the government is delaying the full introduction of Universal Credit.

Gary Lemon, policy director at the Christian charity Trussell Trust told Premier’s News Hour the situation is a mess.

He said: “There is a principle that needs to underpin our whole benefit system. That is that no one is left without enough money to afford the basics.

“Unfortunately what our food banks are seeing is that Universal Credit is no fulfilling that principle at the…

Pictures and voices of people in food poverty will be showcased to raise awareness of the nature, scale, causes and experiences of food insecurity in Britain.

The exhibition Behind Closed Doors is being organised by End Hunger UK and will feature work by photographers Ursula Kelly, Huw Nicholls and James Lane, as well as graphic artist John Reeves and Queen Mary University academic Jon May.

Church Action on Poverty is one of the organisations taking part.

The charity’s director Niall Cooper told Premier: “It’s an issue that’s affecting millions of people. We’ll all have heard about the growth of foodbanks across the UK – many Christians and others have been supporting foodbanks.

“What we’re trying to do is highlight the underlying causes of food poverty – a lack of income, a lack of access to good food.

“We share a vision of a society where everyone has access to good food and no one needs to go to bed hungry…nobody should be going without food in a country as wealthy as ours.”

People attending the exhibition are encouraged to connect with people living in household food insecurity.

Cooper said many of us may be unaware that we know someone who is struggling to eat meals.

“The problem with poverty and food poverty particularly, is there’s a stigma attached,” Cooper said.

“People don’t talk about it – people do their…

The 15-year old was among 110 girls abducted in February from their school in Dapchi, Yobe state.

While all of the surviving girls were freed, Sharibu wasn’t as she refused to renounce her Christian faith and convert to Islam.

On Monday, the Boko Haram faction known as the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) executed aid worker Hauwa Leman – the second International Committee of the Red Cross worker it has killed in less than a month.

ISWAP told local news site The Cable they would make Sharibu a “slave for life”.

Meanwhile, the federal government has condemned the execution of Leman and Lai Mohammed.

The girls from the Government Girls Science and Technical College Dapchi who were kidnapped and set free are photographed during a hand over to government officials in Maiduguri, Nigeria

The minister of information said the government did “everything any responsible government should do” to save both of the murdered aid workers.

The insurgents had threatened on Sunday to kill Leman by Monday.

Last month, ISWAP warned it would kill Sharibu if its ransom demands were not met.

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According to the Daily Telegraph, fans at the Christian entertainer’s Royal Albert Hall show on Sunday jeered when he mentioned the broadcaster, which he successfully sued following its coverage of a police raid on his home.

Responding to the audience’s boos, Sir Cliff said: “Listen, I understand your feelings. I have felt it many times myself. But I was only dealing with the top echelons of the BBC.

“The real BBC, the sound engineers, DJs and producers, have been nothing but kind to me.”

But his words reportedly did not stop fans booing, so Sir Cliff – who was also celebrating his 78th birthday – encouraged them to do it one more time.

He said: “OK, let’s have another boo then, to get it out of your system.”

The singer sued over BBC coverage of a South Yorkshire Police raid on his home in Sunningdale, Berkshire, in August 2014, following an allegation of child sexual assault, which he denied.

He was never charged.

Happy birthday to the wonderful Sir Cliff Richard. It’s an honour to be warming up your audiences on this tour! Tonight, the Royal Albert Hall!! #theflyboys #uktour #SirCliffRichard #SOLDOUT pic.twitter.com/PGrPcp87xo

— The FlyBoys (@TheFlyBoys1) October 14, 2018

In July, Mr Justice Mann ruled in Sir Cliff’s favour following a trial in London, concluding the coverage was a very serious privacy invasion and awarded the singer £210,000 damages.

This…

The Great Adventure Bible includes a colour-coded biblical timeline with Catholic explanations of historical context and symbolism.

Jeff Cavins, the author of the Great Adventure Bible series, and his team said they set out to make the “complexity of reading the Bible simple”.

In a video posted online, Cavins said: “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a Bible that actually explains how to navigate it and make sense of it… a Bible that includes a detailed plan for how to read it with a page layout that’s designed for study and personal devotion?

“Now, for the first time ever, there is a Catholic Bible that does just that.”

The full-colour Great Adventure Catholic Bible, published by Ascension Press, also includes 70 key events which provide a brief description of the milestones in the biblical narrative and the words of Jesus are printed in red.

The publisher’s website states the holy book is “one complete book – this is the only Bible you will ever need”.

Cavins added: “I have had the privilege of working with some of the most talented biblical scholars of our day – Mary Healy, Andrew Swafford and Peter Williamson – to create The Great Adventure Catholic Bible.”

The Great Adventure Catholic Bible is priced at $59.95 and is available for pre-order to arrive on or before 30th November.

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