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One in every two children growing up in Tower Hamlets are living in poverty, a report finds today.

Figures published by the Campaign to End Child Poverty revealed the 14 out of the 20 worst-affected local authorities are in London - with affluent areas of the capital much less likely to be hit.

The research found that children growing up in Tower Hamlets were more than three times as likely to be raised in poverty as those in leafy Richmond-upon-Thames.

The rate of child poverty in the east London borough reached 49 per cent - up from 42 per cent last year.

And four in every 10 children growing up in Hackney and Newham were also found to be living below the poverty-line, according to the research.

Rushanara Ali, Labour MP for one of Tower Hamlets' Bethnal Green Green and Bow constituency, said she cannot envisage the situation improving under the Coalition government.

She told the Standard: "If there's one area that has a cost of living crisis, it's my constituency. We have very high levels of inequality and - in particular - very high housing costs. We have got families who have been really struggling and also high levels of in-work poverty.

"I can't see any light at the end of the tunnel on this government's watch. I've been warning for years it's going to get worse.

"It's not on; we are one of the largest economies in the world and we have over two million children in poverty - and that's going to increase to more than four million by 2020."

David Holmes, Chair of the Campaign, said: “These figures reveal just how widely and deeply child poverty reaches into our communities, even those areas generally regarded as well off. Far too many children whose parents are struggling to make a living are suffering as a result and missing out on the essentials of a decent childhood that all young people should be entitled to. We can and must do better for our children."