A widower has slammed the MP for Watford for supporting a “heartless” cut to a bereavement support payment.

Jon Barber’s wife Marie died at the age of 45 in March 2012 following a year-long battle with terminal cancer.

He was left to raise their two sons - who are now aged 19 and 11 – on his own but called his weekly Widowed Parents Allowance a “lifeline”.

Mr Barber, who is from Watford, says he “could not believe” the Government changes last April which saw bereaved parents now only receiving payments for 18 months instead of the payment lasting until children were 16-years-old.

He was also “outraged” that Richard Harrington defended the decision as he believes the cut will hit the poorest and most vulnerable in society who may not be able to pay for their child’s support alone.

He said: “My biggest upset beyond the financial impact is to infer that a widow or a widower like myself will have finished grieving after 18 months- as I believe this is usually when the real grieving process begins.

“To believe that children will be over the loss of their mum or dad after 18 months is the most naïve and heartless thing I have ever heard.

“Fortunately since my wife’s death was before April 6 2017 we remain as a family supported under the old system.

“It is also really important that this is not technically a “benefit” because it is paid for by my wife’s national insurance contributions and effectively replaces the state pension that she would have received if she had retired alive. To say it is solely paid for by tax payers is therefore untrue.”

The payment is now based on deceased spouse’s national insurance contributions and the maximum amount available is £112.55 a week.

Mr Harrington responded the old payments system did not “reflect” people’s lives now.

He said: "The Department for Work and Pensions has updated an old system that was based on the outdated assumption that a widowed parent relied on their spouse for income, and would never work themselves. This simply doesn't reflect people’s lives today.

“The Bereavement Support Payment helps with the immediate costs when someone loses their spouse or civil partner, and the support quite rightly helps to protect families from any sudden financial difficulties.

“The new payment won't be taxed and is much easier to claim as it doesn’t affect the amount received from any other benefits. This helps those on the lowest incomes the most.

“After 18 months, there are means-tested benefits which can continue to support the bereaved, especially those who are bringing up children.”