JAMIE OLIVER lambasted the Government yesterday for not doing enough to improve school meals, despite “a lot of headline-grabbing words”.

The celebrity chef, who instigated a public campaign for better school food, said that the reaction from Ruth Kelly, the Education Secretary, had not gone far enough.

Mr Oliver said that on a recent visit to South Africa he went to the poorest township in Johannesburg and found that school meals were better than in Britain. He said: “It completely astounded me that in a place of unbelievable poverty, the love and care put into childrens’ meals was greater than in Inner London — and resulted in a more nutritionally balanced lunch.”

In Johannesburg Mr Oliver “watched as a group of women created a school lunch out of the freshest ingredients they could get” — a mutton stew with fresh, locally grown carrots and cabbage, with fruit for pudding.

“If they can do it, there’s absolutely no reason why we can’t,” he said. “Our friends across the world are amazed that a proud country such as ours can have such little regard for the health and wellbeing of its children.” In an article in The House political magazine, Mr Oliver showed his anger and frustration that children’s meals had dropped as a priority for politicians. He appeared to take a swipe at Ms Kelly’s address to a conference of dinner ladies last month, in which she said that it was up to schools and parents to make the difference.

He said: “This time it’s not good enough to argue that this school didn’t want to improve meals or those parents preferred the junk food.”

In March the Government’s response to Mr Oliver’s Feed Me Better campaign, which came on the back of his television series, Jamie’s School Dinners, was to announce a cash injection of £280 million for healthier meals. However, it emerged that the funds were not new money, and that a significant proportion was financed by the lottery.

He said: “I’ve met enough government people to know that the easiest thing in the world is to say a lot of grand, headline-grabbing words and then conveniently forget all about any commitments, often blaming someone else for the resulting failure.”

Mr Oliver was also infuriated by the reluctance of the Government to ban junk food in schools. He said: “It’s simply unacceptable that we should still be feeding growing kids with products loaded with fats, E numbers, reclaimed meat and artificial flavourings.”

A spokeswoman from the Department for Education and Skills said: “We are delivering no less than a transformation in school meals. This is supported by tough new minimum nutrition standards, £235 million new investment, and an independent School Food Trust.”

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Charles blazes trail as sun king
• Thalidomiders win payout 50 years on
• Libel gag on talk of 'medical hurricane'