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Home Secretary Priti Patel has arrogantly denied poverty is the Government's fault.

The top Tory deflected blame onto councils and others as she tried to absolve her party of responsibility after nearly a decade of cruel austerity.

When told that four in 10 children in parts of Barrow, Cumbria, are born into poverty, she told BBC North West Tonight: “Well it’s appalling.

"But of course everybody, and it’s not just people in Westminster, it’s not just at a national level it’s at a local level.”

Responding to the suggestion that nine years of Tory rule were responsible, she said: “Well it’s not the Government though is it?

“Everybody just says it’s the Government as if it’s this sort of like bland blob that you know, you can just go and blame.”

Asked if she was saying the Government was not responsible for poverty, she replied: “Well, it’s not.

“Because it’s all parts of society and the structures.

“Local authorities have a role to play, education and public services, which are locally led and locally run.”

It hasn't stopped her husband blaming the Tories for homelessness though.

Bexley councillor Alex Sawyer said in April: "Successive governments have made a pig's ear of the issue of homelessness and house buildings."

(Image: PA)

Mrs Patel made the comments despite years of swingeing councils cuts under the Tories that have forced town halls to cut jobs and vital services.

In the decade to 2020, councils will have suffered cuts in core funding from the Government of £16billion.

And authorities face an alarming funding gap of £7.8billion by 2025, it was warned last year.

The Mirror previously revealed how foodbank demand has rocketed by 3,772 per cent under a decade of Tory rule.

Bombshell figures show a surge in need from hungry families after nine years of gruelling austerity.

Britain’s biggest foodbank network had 57 outlets open in the final year of the Labour government in 2009/10.

They provided 40,898 aid packages – the equivalent of 368,082 meals. Of those parcels, 13,959 went to children.

By the end of March the network had 425 foodbanks – a 646% increase.

Their volunteers gave away 1,583,668 packages – 14,253,012 meals – in 2018/19. Some 577,618 parcels went to children.

The Social Metrics Commission found there are 14.3million people in poverty in Britain.