Boris Johnson defends refusing free meals to vulnerable children - BBC News

Boris Johnson has defended his refusal to extend free school meals vouchers for children in Englandover the half-term holiday.

However he's promised his government will do everything in its power to make sure no child goes hungry.

Many councils have stepped in to provide meal vouchers and hundreds of businesses are offering parcels to those in need.

Almost 1.5 million children in England are currently eligible for free school meals although campaigners say the impact of coronavirus on incomes means the number of those in need is much higher.

Huw Edwards presents BBC News at Ten reporting by political correspondent Alex Forsyth.

[mikewisniewski]

swears to do everything in his power to make sure no child goes hungry . except feed them .the mind boggles

[Peter-ofrf]

He doesn't know what true hunger feels like. That's why he refuses it. He's a rich, Eton taught, posh playboy who has no insight to life.

[iamdmc]

"We don't want to see children go hungry"
so we'll ignore them until they go away
oh wait, they're not going away?

[tonisantos]

NOBODY, DEFINITELY NOBODY SHOULD STARVE!!!

[dsgrbrowne]

There was £30 per week for family, they already reduced it to £15 per week, they think £15 per week for a family is too much money.

[xiakucao]

Why in the richest countries, so many go hungry?

[niinculus]

They have money to spend on wars but don't have the money to spent on the needy ones

[luke]

The fact that this is even a conversation in the 6th richest economy in the world is a disgrace

[gnhonho]

For MPs: pay rise!
For poor children: denial.

[Ani_B.]

There is no justification for letting hunger run rampant esp children

[kiskaloo]

Haven't seen a starving child that is skin and bones on the streets of the UK, have you? In fact, child obesity is a huge problem. It's a strange paradox that parents claim not to be able to feed their kids, but, most kids are overweight. Not only that, food is really cheap now and I'm sure they have freezers, so when they head out with their young kids late at night to the supermarket don;t buy them toys they don't need or junk food, stock up on the reduced bread, vegetables, meat etc. Morrisons is brilliant for large price cuts after 7pm.
Come on, it's more about the inability to budget, the unwillingness to cook and go without luxuries like streaming TV, phone contracts and that bottle of wine or packet of cigarettes that is the real issue. I cannot believe for one minute that people do not have enough money in benefits to buy basic groceries, sorry, but, I just went shopping and 45p for an 800g loaf of bread is hardly breaking the bank.

[akadare]

Take the ministers lunch money and give it to the kids

[kalanaherath]

*Britain:* Elects Conservatives in a landslide
*Conservatives:* Lets poor kids go hungry
*Britain:* surprised pickachu face

[billy]

If that’s something you have to defend.... yeah. This is a lesson that Tories will always be leaches

[lunhil]

He'll do everything possible to feed kids except actually feed kids. Sounds like one of our American republicans.

[tanneonea]

It is parents responsibility to feed their children, except in urgent circumstances!!! We are paid child benefit for this purpose!

[grahamgottard]

Boris is working hard for Britain and doing the job of two men - Laurel and Hardy. Get rid of the clown and his Etonian cronies.

[TheDoorspookc]

Omg they're doing Oliver Twist shit! In England at that.

[ItsKatyNotKatie]

I’ve read over a dozen comments saying it’s fine to let children go without meals, because that is their parents responsibility. Some people live in poverty, and can’t make it by, and even if they have- when has it EVER been right to punish a child for their parent’s mistakes? Calling people who want to feed starving children “commies”, is the epitome of stupid. You don’t have to be a “commie”, or a left wing person to allow children to have their basic rights. It’s called human decency.

[jamessnazell]

Boris says "We don't to see any children going hungry this Winter..." Yet many children are going hungry this winter. In other words Boris has failed in what he says.