Sunak hints Johnson's junk food Bogof policy could be scrapped

Rishi Sunak has hinted he could cancel Boris Johnson’s ban on “buy one, get one free” (Bogof) offers on junk food following a backlash from Conservative MPs.

The Prime Minister said no final decision had been made on the policy, which is set to be introduced in October despite research casting doubt on its effectiveness.

The crackdown on multi-buy supermarket deals forms part of an anti-obesity drive announced by Mr Johnson in 2020 after he was admitted to hospital with Covid, only for it to be delayed last year amid soaring food prices.

While Downing Street had insisted on Monday it would press ahead with the proposals, Mr Sunak opened the door to an about-turn when challenged by Philip Davies, the Tory MP for Shipley, at Prime Minister’s Questions.

Legacy

Mr Davies said: “One of the socialist landmines the Prime Minister has inherited from the former member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip – I’m sure the Prime Minister remembers him. He’s the one who said that we should be more conservative. If only he had had a majority of 80 and been prime minister, he might have been able to do something about it.

“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.

“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 he would want him to do – and scrap this ridiculous policy?”

Mr Sunak responded: “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.”

Asked if this meant the policy could be reversed, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman told reporters that while upcoming policies are kept under review, there are “no plans to change that”.

Minimal impact

An analysis by the Department of Health and Social Care which resurfaced this week suggested the Bogof ban would only have a minimal impact on calorie consumption.

Children under 10 are expected to consume only 2.5 fewer calories a day if Bogof deals are scrapped, the projections show, while men are predicted to consume 3.7 fewer calories and women 2.8 fewer.

Mr Davies joins Tory backbenchers including Ben Bradley, MP for the Red Wall seat of Mansfield, and Greg Smith, the Buckingham MP, in calling for the Bogof ban to be undone.

Mr Bradley said ministers “should keep their hands off people’s Bogofs”, while Mr Smith added: “I would say it’s nuts, but the fanatics are probably opposed to the natural oils in those too.”

Challenged on the impact of the policy, Mr Sunak’s spokesman said on Monday that the Government’s anti-obesity strategy would have a “cumulative impact, rather than just looking at a policy in isolation”.