EXCLUSIVE Former Cabinet Office Minister John Penrose, who is married to coronavirus Test and Trace chief Dido Harding, made the comments after footballer Marcus Rashford’s free school campaign
The top Tory MP married to coronavirus Test and Trace chief Dido Harding blasted “chaotic parents” who send their children “to school without breakfast so they can’t concentrate properly”.
Former Cabinet Office Minister John Penrose, 56, made the comments in a letter to a constituent who wanted to know why he voted against extending free school meals for hungry kids in the holidays – a campaign led by footballer Marcus Rashford.
In Mr Penrose’s reply, which was posted on Twitter, he rejected “sticking plaster solutions” which “increase dependency”.
He added: “Practical measures which make a genuine difference to the causes of poverty include things like the Pupil Premium, which gives schools extra funding for disadvantaged pupils; breakfast clubs, which help children with chaotic parents who send them to school without breakfast so they can’t concentrate properly”.
The comments come after a fellow backbench Tory MP, Ben Bradley, last week triggered fury by linking free school meals with “crack dens” and “brothels”.
