Nottinghamshire Conservative MP Lee Anderson has defended his comments on food banks after saying people use them because they “cannot cook properly” and “cannot budget”. Mr Anderson invited “everybody” on the opposition benches in the Commons to visit a food bank in his Nottinghamshire constituency where, when people come for a food parcel, they now need to register for a “budgeting course” and a “cooking course”.
Asked by a Labour MP if it should be necessary to have food banks in 21st century Britain, the MP for Ashfield said there is not “this massive use for food banks” in the UK, but “generation after generation who cannot cook properly” and “cannot budget”.
His comments during the second day of the Queen’s Speech debate in the Commons were harshly criticised, with some urging him to apologise.
