Something went wrong - please try again later.

Thank you for signing up to The Courier daily newsletter

Sign up for our daily newsletter of the top stories in Courier country

Dundonians turned out in the rain to protest severe Jobcentre sanctions.

The protest comes amid a new report indicating use of foodbanks in the city has almost doubled since last year.

The main reason given by people using the foodbanks for requiring the emergency relief was problems with their benefits.

Some people at the protest gave their views to The Courier.

A protester, who did not want to be named, said: “I’m a single parent, and I’ve been sanctioned. It takes the legs from under you.

“There’s a minimum amount of money you need to live and they’re trying to take us under it.”

Lee Jones said: “I was a student until May and tried to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance, but couldn’t because I was technically still a student until June.

“I was unwell, so I missed an appointment and was sanctioned for four weeks.

“I tried to explain to the staff at the Jobcentre, but they were having none of it.”

Dundee East MP Stewart Hosie gave his reasons for attending the protest.

“I was mainly inspired by the growing poverty in Dundee, especially in-work poverty,” he said.

“We’re looking at having one million Scots in poverty. We have to send a message to the UK Government in relation to sanctions, because currently people can’t afford to eat.

“It’s ridiculous, and I think it’s absolutely right for people to take a stand and tell the UK Government that their policy is wrong.

“Many of my constituents have been on the wrong end of sanctions, and they have been doing the right thing and been punished for it.

“The staff at the Dundee Jobcentre have been doing an incredible job, this is a stand against UK Government policy, not the staff at the Jobcentre.”

A spokesman for Dundee Against Welfare Sanctions said: “Stewart Hosie isn’t just a decorative character for publicity. It’s important that MPs are coming along and speaking out along with the people.”

Almost 6,000 people made use of Dundee’s foodbank in the last year, almost double the number of people who used the bank during the same period 2012-2013.

The Trussell Trust, who operate the foodbank in the city, found that 45% of users named delayed benefits, or benefit changes, as their main reason for using the service.

One-in-five people named low income as a reason for requiring food.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said:“We need welfare that works, we need more jobs that pay good wages and we need to see the cost of living crisis tackled head on.”

While giving evidence to the Welfare Reform Committee, under-secretary of state for Scotland David Mundell said there was no doubt people have been forced to use foodbanks because of sanctions and delays in receiving benefits.

Mr Hosie said: “This admission is welcome because it is glaringly obvious that there is a direct link.”

Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee City East, said: “More and more Scots are being forced to rely on foodbanks while Westminster deliberates over how many tens of billions to spend on renewing Trident nuclear weapons.

“If anything shows the evidence of Westminster failure, it is the evidence of more and more people being forced into poverty and using foodbanks.”