The hunger gap

AS CHAIRS of the all-party parliamentary groups on school food and hunger, we would like to counter the criticism of Dame Emma Thompson in Platell’s People (Mail).

There are 4.1 million children in the UK growing up in poverty. That is one in three children living in households that struggle to afford to buy enough healthy food to meet the official nutrition guidelines.

There is also an obesity crisis fuelled, among many things, by the convenience and affordability of food that is high in fat, salt and sugar.

When four apples cost £1.50, but six doughnuts are £ 1, eating a healthy diet can be difficult on a low income, but at the same time we have children going hungry and worrying about where their next meal will come from.

Malnutrition is hitting our communities with devastating effects, and activists such as Dame Emma, who are rightly horrified by this sorry state of affairs, should not be met with hostility when raising awareness and giving children a voice.

SHARON HODGSON MP, EMMA LEWELL-BUCK MP, ROBERTA BLACKMAN-WOODS MP,

PHILIPPA WHITFORD MP, KERRY McCARTHY MP, London SW1.