Ayr and Carrick MP and MSP have condemned changes to child tax credits and a controversial provision known as the "rape clause" in a Holyrood debate yesterday.

To cut the welfare bill, the UK Government has capped child tax credit to two children per family, except in special circumstances, such as a subsequent child being born from rape.

To qualify for more money, mothers must name such children and discuss their case with health care professionals or others.

Ayr, Carrick & Cumnock MP Corri Wilson has reacted to the introduction of a two child limit and rape clause for tax credits which came into force at the start of April.

Ms Wilson said that the new rules will be devastating for families who are already struggling to make ends meet and that survivors of rape are being treated with shocking disrespect.

Ms Wilson said:“These latest raft of cuts to social security mark yet another new low from this austerity-obsessed Tory government.

"Frankly, I am disgusted by a government that puts survivors of rape in this distressing position where they are forced to prove to the Department for Work and Pensions that their child is the product of rape in order to receive the support that they need. Theresa May should be ashamed of herself.

“The two child cap on child tax credits is a cruel and unhelpful measure which largely penalises families who are already in work.

"While the Tories constantly preach about the value of getting people into work, their actions show that this means nothing if they live in a country where low-earning families are deliberately targeted. This is a move driven by ideology and cruelty – nothing more.

Jeane Freeman, MSP for Carrick, Cumnock & Doon Valley added:“It is barbaric that the UK Government is seeking to restrict social security support to just the first two children in a family. 

"None of us know the day when a sudden change in personal circumstances might lead to us needing support, and families should not face poverty simply because of the size of their family. 

"However, this is made worse by the ‘rape clause exemption’, where women will have to complete an eight page form about matters which are private and difficult. 

"The UK Tory government shows no understanding of either poverty or violence against women.  I worry about the children who will be stigmatised by this.”

In a heated debate, MSPs heaped scorn on Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson and her party for failing to condemn the policy.

There were shouts of “Shame” as Ms Davidson and colleagues refused to take interventions and said the measure had to be seen in the “context” of managing the nation’s finances.

Over an uncomfortable two hours for the Scottish Tories, many of the party’s MSPs kept their heads lowered and read their phones instead of making eye contact with critics.

Opening the debate, First Ministers Nicola Sturgeon asked parliament to state it was “fundamentally opposed” to the two-child cap and the rape clause, and that both should be scrapped.

She said: “No woman anywhere should have to prove that she has been raped in order to get tax credits for her child. I actually can’t believe that in 2017 I am having to stand up in the Scottish Parliament and make that argument.”

Reading an email from a victim, Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale urged Tory MSPs to heed the “heartbreaking” testimony and disown the UK Government policy.

Holyrood listened in silence as Ms Dugdale said the woman never wanted her child to know the truth and would not risk telling others under the rape clause in case they found out.

The woman,who has three other children, said she had previously felt suicide could be “the only way out” after being attacked by a close friend four years ago.

She said the need “to protect my children from the truth came above all other considerations” to avoid “the permanent and damaging stigma attached to rape”.

Referring to the benefits form involved in the rape clause, the woman wrote: “There is no way I could complete that awful form of shame, no matter what the consequences.

“Looking back, that really could have been the thing that tipped me completely over the edge; the difference between surviving to tell the tale and not.”

Reading the victim’s account from her email, Ms Dugdale told MSPs: “My child doesn’t know where they came from and if I have anything to do with it they never will. Nobody knows; aside from me, my husband and the mental health nurse who helped me through this living hell.