Jamie Oliver blasts government and claims British public are more at risk from fat than ISIS
The TV chef has accused Theresa May’s government of not caring as he rages about the threat obesity poses in the UK
TELLY chef Jamie Oliver claims Islamic extremists are less of a threat to Brits than being fat is.
Healthy eating campaigner Jamie, 41, made the comments as prime minister Theresa May was accused of watering down the government’s plans to tackle the obesity crisis.
Jamie said: “Obesity is killing huge amounts of people, well before their time. This is a war, if you are worried about the thing that hurts British people the most, it ain’t ISIS, right?”
Jamie, who has previously campaigned for healthier school meals for kids, spoke out as part of a Channel 4 Dispatches investigation into what health secretary Jeremy Hunt has described as a “national emergency”.
The programme, called The Secret Plan to Save Fat Britain, reveals that May’s government has dismantled David Cameron’s original strategy and removed or edited some key points.
The one-off special, which airs on Monday at 8pm on Channel 4, claims the cornerstone of the plan to cut childhood obesity by half within the next ten years has been abandoned.
It also says that, according to a draft proposal seen by the programme, plans to force restaurants to put calorie information on menus has also been scrapped.
Forcing supermarkets to abandon the promotion of unhealthy food with buy-one-get-one-free offers has also been removed from plans released in late August.
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Chef Jamie has now accused the government of not caring.
He said: “I don’t know where to start. This should go to the Trades Description Act because that says an ‘action plan’ and there’s hardly any action in there.
“When you look at how the plan came out at midnight, next to the A Level results, while the whole of government’s on holiday, it absolutely screams out we don’t care.”
He says they should now start their plans again, adding: “I’d say it’s never too late to say I’m sorry.”
Olympic rowing champion and healthy eating campaigner James Cracknell, 44, also blasted the changes.
He said: “I’m disappointed because the effect of it down the line is going to impact every member of society because it’s going to bankrupt the NHS.”
A Department of Health spokesperson said: “Our plan to tackle child obesity is ground-breaking: no other developed country has done anything as ambitious. The Government has intentionally taken a careful and measured approach which will reduce obesity. We are taking bold action though the Soft
“Drinks Industry Levy to cut the amount of sugar consumed by young people. Alongside this, our restrictions on advertising and promotion are among the toughest in the world.
“These steps will make a real difference to help reverse a problem that has been decades in the making, but we have not ruled out further action if the right results are not seen.”
