Rishi Sunak dodges on whether ban on BOGOF deals will go ahead

Rishi Sunak dodges on whether ban on BOGOF junk food deals will go ahead as Tories warn him the ‘nanny state’ move is ‘idiotic’ and ‘bonkers’ during a cost-of-living crisis

Rishi Sunak dodged on whether a ban on ‘BOGOF’ food deals will happen today as he faced a fresh Tory backlash.

Senior backbencher Philip Davies berated Mr Sunak over the ‘nanny state’ policy at PMQs, saying it was ‘bonkers’ during a cost-of-living crisis.

Mr Sunak noted that the proposal had already been delayed, and seemed to contradict indications from Downing Street earlier this week that the block will go ahead from October.

Instead he stressed that ‘no final decisions have been made’ and he was taking objections ‘seriously’. 

Rishi Sunak dodged on whether a ban on ‘BOGOF’ food deals will happen today as he faced a fresh Tory backlash

Britons have been struggling with soaring food prices amid the Ukraine war and fallout from Covid (file picture)

Mr Davies described the idea as a ‘socialist landmine’ that had been inherited from Boris Johnson.

‘One of the landmines he left behind was the idiotic triumph of the nanny state of banning buy one, get one free and other special offers on products that the Department of Health thought was unhealthy,’ he said in the Commons.

‘During a cost-of-living crisis it is utterly bonkers. So can I ask the Prime Minister if he will intervene, pursue a more Conservative agenda as (Mr Johnson) would want him to do, and scrap this ridiculous policy?’

Mr Sunak replied: ‘After I took office, given the concerns that he and others had raised about the impact on the cost of living, we already have, as he knows, postponed the introduction of this policy.

‘No final decisions have been made, but I will continue to take what he says very seriously in all our deliberations.’

Tory unrest has been growing over the long-mooted BOGOF crackdown on food and drink classed  as high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS).

The Department for Health’s own assessment has said banning the promotional deals will only reduce daily intake by a maximum of four calories – the equivalent of a single grape – while households miss out on an annual £634 saving.

In 2020, a Department for Health impact assessment regarding the banning of buy one, get one free (BOGOF) deals suggested adult men would only consume 3.7 calories less than under current conditions.

Senior backbencher Philip Davies berated Mr Sunak over the ‘nanny state’ policy at PMQs, saying it was ‘bonkers’ during a cost-of-living crisis

Adult women would see an even smaller difference, taking in just 2.9 fewer calories per day.

In 2015, Public Health England suggested BOGOF promotions reduce an average household food and drink bill by 16 per cent or £634.

They also suggested that during the financial crisis in 2008, consumers increasingly relied on such offers to help them save money as a ‘useful coping strategy’.

The ban – which was meant to be introduced last October – was delayed for a year due to concerns over rising energy and goods prices.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said this week: ‘We have taken a concerted approach to dealing with obesity, which costs the NHS billions of pounds a year, and we will continue to do so. There’s no plan to change our approach.’

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