You’re not acting like a parent: Jamie’s blast for Theresa
JAMIE Oliver has accused Theresa May of letting ‘every child in Britain down’ by acting like a politician instead of a parent.
The celebrity chef said the Prime Minister, who has no children, had done a ‘terrible job’ by watering down the Government’s childhood obesity strategy.
He attacked the axing of plans to curb junk-food advertising, and said replacement proposals were a ‘travesty’.
Oliver, 41, also described her decision to reverse a ban on placing sweets at supermarket checkouts as ‘unforgiveable’.
In a scathing interview with Radio Times, Oliver said her climbdown on hard-hitting proposals from former Prime Minister David Cameron would hurt future generations.
He added: ‘She’s completely let every child in Britain down, let parents down, everyone has been let down.
‘The stuff on the shelf with her predecessor was going to be much more robust.
‘Don’t get me wrong, I’m not slagging her off for the sake of it. I wanted her to act not like a politician, but a parent.’
However, when he was told that Mrs May was not a parent, Oliver replied: ‘I didn’t know that.’ The subject of motherhood flared during Mrs May’s Tory leadership bid this summer, when rival Andrea Leadsom suggested that being a mother would make her a better Prime Minister.
In a controversial interview in July, Mrs Leadsom said: ‘Genuinely, I feel that being a mum means you have a very real stake in the future of our country, a tangible stake.
‘She [Mrs May] possibly has nieces, nephews, lots of people,
‘I have nothing nice to say’
but I have children who are going to have children who will directly be a part of what happens next.’
Mrs May, 59, has been married to investment banker Philip may since 1980. She has said little publicly about their childlessness, but has indicated that it was not a choice.
Mrs Leadsom later apologised for her comments, saying it was wrong to suggest that not having children gave Mrs May less of a stake in the future.
Oliver, a father of five, said he wanted to meet the Prime Minister to strengthen the latest proposals.
However, he admitted: ‘I don’t know if she’s going to want to talk to me because I’ve nothing nice to say – nothing.
‘But I do think British parents don’t want to just hear bad news all the time. People just want stuff to be fixed.’
Oliver and his wife Jools have just had their second boy, after their son River Rocket was born this month.
He said he was concerned that ministers had been lobbied by the junk food industry and were relying on a modest tax on sugary soft drinks to satisfy antiobesity campaigners.
They have dropped plans to ban advertisements for unhealthy foods before the 9pm watershed and abandoned a promise to ban junk food from supermarket checkouts.
Food manufacturers will instead be challenged to reduce the level of sugar in products such as cereals, yoghurts, sweets and desserts by a fifth by 2020.
However, this is a voluntary scheme, and companies will not be compelled to reduce the sugar levels.
In January, the wording of the obesity strategy said: ‘The food and drinks industry will be given six months to come up with plans to reduce sugar in products consumed by children by around 20 per cent in five years.’
But a new version suggests firms will now merely be ‘challenged to reduce sugar in products which contribute to children’s overall sugar intake’.
Oliver, who was named most influential person in Britain’s food and drink industry this year, spent two years working with Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to ensure the tough plans were mandatory for food manufacturers. He has also campaigned to improve school dinners and poultry welfare.