A RENEWED call to end the two-child tax credit limit has been made by charities and a Glasgow MP.

Organisations including Scottish Women’s Aid and Rape Crisis Scotland have written to the Work and Pension secretary Amber Rudd calling for a rethink.

They argue that the policy says that some children matter less than others depending on the order of their birth.

The also want the rape clause where women must give prove a third child was born as a result of a rape to be exempt from the two-child cap.

Earlier this month Ms Rudd went back on a plan to extend the cap to children born before the policy was introduced and the campaigners want it scrapped altogether.

They are supported by Alison Thewliss, Glasgow Central SNP MP, who has campaigned against the policy and the rape clause since it was announced.

Ms Thewliss said: “My SNP colleagues at Westminster and Holyrood will not allow this damaging policy to be swept under the rug, as George Osborne attempted over four years ago.

“Amidst the chaos of Brexit, it is important that we don’t forget the people who will be affected by the Tories’ damaging welfare cuts.

“We will continue to pressure the UK government to put the needs of the poorest in society above the demands of the hard-right Tory cohort.”

when she announced the policy would not be extended to children born before 2017 Ms rud said it was “not right”.

She said: “These parents made decisions about the size of the family when the previous system was the only system in place,”

Campaigners hope she will take a different approach to the two child cap than her predecessors and be prepared to listen to the arguments that it is unfair, discriminatory and should be scrapped.

In the letter also signed by Engender, Shakti Women’s Aid and Zero Tolerance Scotland the campaigners state parents subjected to the cap will be forced to choose between food and heating.

It states: “No-one can predict the future – families that can comfortably support a third child today could struggle tomorrow, and have to claim universal credit because, sadly, health, jobs and relationships can fail.”

The groups said that in its first year 3,800 Scottish families had their income cut due to the two-child cap and that the Institute for Fiscal Studies projected the number of children living in poverty will grow to 5.2 million children across the UK by 2020-21.

The letter continued: “It is a grave concern that parents forced to make the heart-breaking choice between feeding their children, heating their home or falling into poverty. This policy also discriminates against a number of different groups, including children, children with multiple siblings, large families, and those with a religious or moral objection to the use of birth control.”

Child tax credit can be worth up to £231 a month.