An England rugby star has called on the British government to incentivise marriage, as a new report reveals 70 per cent on young offenders come from broken homes.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Courtney Lawes said “A stable family means one where the parents are married”, as a report by the Centre for Social Justice warned that cohabiting couples are four times more likely to separate.

The 31-year-old, who plays second row for Northampton, revealed how his half-brother did not enjoy the a stable upbringing like he did and ended up in jail.

“My dad tried to be there for him as much as he could be. But unfortunately that didn’t prevent my brother from adopting a bad lifestyle,” Lawes wrote.

“I’m forced to ask the question of how his life might have been different if he had grown up in a stable home.”

“This was not an exceptional story in our community: almost one in five Afro-Caribbean fathers do not raise their children,” he added.

“How do we help counter this trend? Maybe the answer is marriage.”

The report “Family Structure Still Matter”, by former Catholic Herald editor Cristina Odone, found unmarried cohabiting couples are four times more likely to split up and that 70 per cent of young offenders come from broken homes.

The Centre for Social Justice report also revealed that teenagers from the poorest 20 per cent of households are two thirds more likely to experience family breakdown than those from the wealthiest 20 per cent.

Children aged five to 10 are also twice as likely to suffer mental health problems if their parents are cohabiting rather than married.

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