A "lost generation" will be pushed out of London because they cannot afford to rent or buy accommodation, a report warned yesterday.

The number of employed people claiming housing benefit in England has risen by 104 per cent since 2009 - a rate of one new claimant every five minutes - because of soaring rents, according to the National Housing Federation (NHF).

Around 310 new claims are added every day at a total cost of more than £12 billion since 2009, said the NHF report Home Truths.