PART of Bradford will be hit harder than anywhere else in the country by deep cuts to tax credits, official data reveals.

And cities with large ethnic minority populations – including Bradford – will lose out far more than predominantly white areas, the figures show.

There are also fears that taking huge sums in tax credits away from people in certain pockets of the country will badly damage local economies, because there will be less money to spend.

The statistics are revealed amid a bitter row within the Labour party about whether to support the Chancellor’s move to limit tax credits to two children only, in future.

Harriet Harman, Labour’s interim leader said the party would not oppose the move, although the final decision will be left to the new permanent leader, to be elected in September.

Imran Hussein, the Bradford East MP, said Ms Harman’s stance was “outrageous”, adding: “It would increase child poverty, so I will never support it.

“Tax credits help the poorest and most vulnerable in society, so it would be outrageous to limit them to two children.”

Judith Cummins, the Bradford South MP, also indicated she disagreed with Ms Harman, ahead of a stormy meeting at Westminster last night.

She said: “I do not believe that the best way to reduce the deficit is to hit families who are in work, as children are always the first to suffer when family incomes are hit.”

In the Budget, George Osborne announced a four-year freeze on tax credits – income top-ups for the low-paid and poorer parents – and that they would be restricted to two children, from April 2017.

And they will be restricted to the lowest paid – swiping £1,000 from three million low-paid families across the country, independent experts said.

The official data shows that, in Bradford West, 64 per cent of households receive child or working family tax credits, the highest proportion of any seat in the UK.

The proportion of non-white residents in Bradford West is over 62 per cent - more than four times the national average.

Tax credits make up two per cent of weekly household income for white households, but six per cent for black households and ten per cent for those of Pakistani or Bangladeshi origin.

This is largely because ethnic minority households typically have bigger families – as well as lower incomes – and so will lose out if tax credits are restricted to two children.

Mr Osborne announced a “living wage” of £7.20 from next April, but the Institute for Fiscal Studies said it would not compensate families for the loss of tax credits.