HUNDREDS of thousands of Scotland’s poorest people are being hit by Labour’s attack on the winter fuel allowance and retention of the two-child benefit cap, the SNP warned today.

The party said 900,000 Scottish pensioners had been “robbed” of their heating payments while energy bills have soared by £149.

It also accused the Westminster government of “cancelling Christmas for Scotland’s most vulnerable children” by maintaining the two-child benefit cap, which the Tories introduced seven years ago.

The SNP said the cap was costing affected families in Scotland £4,300 a year.

Earlier this month Scotland’s finance secretary, Shona Robison, pledged to scrap the two-child benefit cap in Scotland to lift 15,000 children out of poverty.

SNP MSP and social justice committee chair in Holyrood Collette Stevenson said: “The two-child cap is an abhorrent policy and that’s exactly why this SNP government will scrap it.

“As outlined in this year’s budget, we will deliver for the most vulnerable Scottish families where the Tories and Labour have repeatedly failed them, removing this cap on benefits and directly lifting 15,000 children out of poverty.”

The SNP also called for restoration of the winter fuel allowance to all pensioners after Westminster reduced access to a means tested benefit.

It said pensioners in Scotland would be paid a “universal winter heating payment” in compensation.

SNP MSP Dave Doogan said: “With the bookies having slashed odds on a white Christmas many Scots will be facing sky-high energy bills, which have increased under Sir Keir Starmer.

“It’s time he acted to support hard-pressed households or it’s going to be a very bleak winter.

“Instead of tackling the soaring cost of energy, the Labour government has made it even worse by increasing household energy bills by 10 per cent while taking £600 in winter fuel payments from pensioners.

“The SNP Scottish government has acted to clean up Labour’s mess and deliver a unique Scottish winter heating payment for pensioners, but voters are rightly furious that the only ‘change’ Labour is offering has been to cut the winter fuel payment.”

The British government said the state of the public finances means the two-child cap cannot be revoked, noting “significant social security powers” have been devolved to Holyrood since 2016.