Pressure mounts on government over ‘meagre’ free school meals – follow live

A seven-mile bike ride may sometimes be local and sometimes not under the current lockdown regulations, the government’s policing minister has said.

Kit Malthouse said Boris Johnson’s bike ride to east London was within the rules, which say people can exercise but must do so in their local area.

Our Policy Correspondent Jon Stone has taken a further look at the minister’s remarks:

After sharing several pictures of measly free school meals, Angela Rayner accused the government of “rotten cronyism” due to private contracts being handed out to people familiar with ministers.

The deputy Labour leader had earlier contrasted the money spent on food parcels with the large bonus (around £50,000) granted to Dominic Cummings, a comparison also made by Labour MP David Lammy in his response to the provisions.

Dame Cressida Dick has said Boris Johnson did not break the law when he cycled in a park seven miles from Downing Street over the weekend.

The Metropolitan Police commissioner said people should stay close to home when exercising but when asked about the prime minister’s trip she said: “What I can say is that it is not against the law. I think that’s implicit.”

Asked what she thought “local” meant with regards to exercise, Dame Cressida added: “For me, a reasonable interpretation of that is that if you can … go for your exercise from your front door and come back to your front door.

“That’s my view of local. It is complicated. I understand that.”

Gym boss Rebecca Passmore has told MPs the health and leisure sector needs more financial support from the government.

Ms Passmore, the UK managing director for PureGym, told the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee: “Gyms are an essential community asset – there is a huge health dividend which they bestow through maintaining strong physical and mental health.

“What we are looking for as a sector is specific, targeted support that will make an impact to operators, particularly the smaller operators who aren’t as stable as us as a business.”

Foodwriter Jack Monroe, who has relied on foodbanks to feed her family in the past, has been posting several pictures of free school meal parcels shared with her by parents.

The anti-poverty campaigner also pointed out that the food provided does not satisfy the government’s legislated school lunch requirements, which established minimum daily portions of each key food group and came into force in 2015.

The government is facing building pressure over the measly free school meal parcels being handed out to families around the country.

Footballer and campaigner Marcus Rashford led the criticism last night while ever more Labour MPs are lining up behind leader Sir Keir Starmer in asking the government to explain where the money allocated for the provision of meals was going. Conservative MP Damian Collins also asked private supplier Chartwells to give a breakdown of how the £30 per family was being used.

Our reporter Tom Batchelor has the full story:

Border officials have been confiscating sandwiches and other foodstuffs from drivers arriving in the Netherlands from the UK after Brexit, Adam Forrest reports.

A Dutch TV clip showed a driver had his ham sandwiches taken away by border officials as he arrived – with one border guard joking: “Welcome to the Brexit, sir.”

One driver coming off the ferry from Britain with ham sandwiches wrapped in tinfoil was heard pleading with the border guard: “Can you take the meat and leave me the bread?”

The official replied: “No, everything will be confiscated – welcome to the Brexit, sir. I’m sorry.”

Read the full report here:

Policing minister Kit Malthouse has been doing the rounds this morning, taking questions on BBC, ITV and Times Radio over Boris Johnson’s now apparently local cycle trip seven miles away from home.

Asked on BBC Breakfast whether a seven mile trip could be considered “local”, Mr Malthouse replied: “It depends where you are. Obviously seven miles will be local in different areas and in different times.

 “I understand that this is a sort of scotch egg moment where people are searching for the loopholes and the problems in the law, unfortunately we can’t legislate for every single dynamic of human existence.”

He offered another definition of “local” to Times Radio when asked: “’Local’ means you can get there under your own steam.”

On ITV’s Good Morning Britain, the minister, who also worked under Boris Johnson when he was London mayor, said the government was relying on people having “common sense” when following lockdown rules.

A cross-party group of MSPs has called on Nicola Sturgeon’s deputy to investigate whether Scotland’s first minister failed to disclose knowledge regarding allegations of sexual misconduct against her predecessor Alex Salmond.

Mr Salmond claimed Ms Sturgeon broke the ministerial code by misleading parliament over when she learned of the sexual harassment claims against him.

Four members of the committee examining the Scottish government’s handling of the claims wrote to John Swinney, the deputy first minister, saying Mr Salmond’s claim would mean Ms Sturgeon misled parliament on several ocassions if proved true.

When challenged over her account of events at a press briefing on Monday, Ms Sturgeon said: “I do not consider I misled Parliament but of course that is for others to judge.”