Donations to food banks surge after Mail on Sunday criticism

Donations to the food bank charity, the Trussell Trust, surged to more than £54,000 after a Mail on Sunday article criticising its work outraged its supporters.

The newspaper claimed that fraudsters routinely “take advantage” of handouts while accusing the charity of giving out food parcels without properly checking people’s circumstances.

Before the article was published, the charity’s Help Crack UK Hunger campaign had raised around £2,000 from 238 donations.

Online supporters of the charity responded to the paper’s claims by visiting its JustGiving page during the Easter weekend. They pushed its donations up to £54,838 from more than 4,000 pledges.