'A Great British institution': Starmer defends the sandwich after Badenoch says lunchbox staple is 'not real food'
12 December 2024, 13:54
Downing Street has hit back at claims sandwiches "are not real food" after Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch declared war on the lunchbox staple.
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Ms Badenoch earlier claimed that she brings lunch in to eat while working because there is “no time” for a pause, adding: “What’s decompressing, what’s that? What’s a lunch break? Lunch is for wimps."
In the same interview, the Tory leader argued that she opts to eat a steak instead.
Now, Downing Street has stepped in to defend the humble sandwich in what has become a war on crusts.
On Thursday, he Prime Minister's spokesman branded the lunchbox favourite a “Great British institution”.
“I think he was surprised to hear that the leader of the Opposition has a steak brought in for lunch," the PM's spokesperson said following Badenoch's comments on lunches.
“The Prime Minister is quite happy with a sandwich lunch,” Number 10 added, revealing the PM "enjoys a tuna sandwich and occasionally a cheese toastie.”
The Tory leader revealed her views on lunch as part of her interview with The Spectator, declaring: “I have food brought in and I work and eat at the same time. There’s no time."
Arguing that sandwiches are not “not real food”, she added: "I will not touch bread if it's moist."
During the interview, Badenoch hit out at the Prime Minister for saying he might watch Love Actually over Christmas, adding that she prefers watching Die Hard over the festive period.
“There is a British prime minister who’s messing around and is not doing the foreign policy properly, people are cheating and there is a lot going on there if you move away from the smiley, happy, cheesy stuff,” she told The Spectator.
In an interview with LBC on Wednesday, former Home Secretary James Cleverly warned that Ms Badenoch should to underestimate Reform UK’s Nigel Farage.
It comes as Reform surges ahead in the polls, over taking Labour for the first time earlier this week.
“He’s very good at tapping into frustrations and very, very good at amplifying some of the genuine concerns that are experienced by the British people,” Mr Cleverly said.
He urged Ms Badenoch, who along with Robert Jenrick surprisingly knocked Mr Cleverly out of the Tory leadership race in October, to come up with genuine solutions to the country’s problems instead of simply criticising Labour.
In Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s questions, Ms Badenoch focussed her questions on immigration, slamming Sir Keir for not including a pledge to cut immigration as one of his six milestones announced last week.
“He has launched, yet again, many new targets, six milestones, five missions, but why was cutting migration not a priority.”
Sir Keir hit back by likening the Tory leader’s attack to an “arsonist complaining about the people trying to put the fire out,” pointing to the last Conservative government’s record on immigration.
