Poverty Protesters Make Plea To PM

Thousands of protesters are taking part in what they hope will be Britain's biggest ever march against child poverty.

The Campaign to End Child Poverty rally is calling on the Government to keep its promise of halving child poverty in the UK by 2010.

Supporters are reminding Prime Minister Gordon Brown that he needs to invest an extra £3bn in the 2009 budget to tackle the problem.

The Campaign - a coalition of more than 120 UK organizations - is marching from Trafalgar Square to Westminster in central London.

Campaign director Hilary Fisher said: "Today is an historic day for children across the UK.

"Thousands are to show our Prime Minister how important it is that he listens to our plea not just for a better future for children who are living in poverty but for a better present."

Research published this week by the Campaign found that in 174 of 646 parliamentary constituencies across the UK, more than half the children live in poverty.

It suggested that pockets of the UK were in "turmoil" and millions more children than previously thought were being left behind.

Of the 13,233,320 children in the UK, 5,559,000 - more than a third - live in low-income families or families in poverty.

In his Labour Party Conference speech last month, Mr Brown announced plans for "ground-breaking legislation" to solve the issue by 2020.

At Downing Street today, Mr Brown assured campaigners he would stick to his word.

He said: "One of the great causes of this generation is the eradication of child poverty and I am saying that we will in law make it the duty of Government by 2020 to eradicate child poverty in this country.

"While it is a long haul, we want to show step by step how we can achieve that goal."