Children facing ‘holiday hunger’ could get free school meals, as Boris Johnson hints at U-turn

Boris Johnson has hinted at a U-turn in providing free school meals during the holidays, amid fierce backlash and pressure from Conservative MPs.

On Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was “very proud” of the government’s measures to end child poverty and holiday hunger, which include a £63 million fund for local councils to distribute food and other support. 

But speaking during a visit to a hospital in Berkshire on Wednesday, Johnson hinted at a potential U-turn on the Conservatives’ refusal to extend free school meals, and he also vowed that children would not go hungry due to government "inattention." 

We don’t want to see children going hungry this winter, this Christmas. Certainly not as a result of any inattention by the government – and you are not going to see that.

Johnson said, “I totally understand the issue of holiday hunger,” adding, “The debate is, how do you deal with it.” 

Johnson’s renewed pledge to support children during the holidays comes amid mounting pressure from Tory MPs, including one who branded the situation a “political handling disaster.” 

Up to 100 Tory MPs have expressed their anger at the government’s refusal to back a campaign by Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford to extend free school meals during the holidays, the Times reported. 

On Monday, Rashford also denied that he and Johnson had been “communicating” over the issue, something that had been claimed by Health Secretary Matt Hancock. 

Johnson later confirmed that he had not spoken to Rashford since June when the footballer’s original campaign saw the government guarantee free school meal vouchers for 1.3 million children over the summer holidays. 

Almost 900,000 people have now signed a petition to “end child food poverty” while scores of restaurants and cafes have offered free meals to feed children at risk of going hungry. 

On October 21, 322 Tory MPs defeated a Labour motion for free school meals to be provided over the school holidays until Easter 2021. 

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