London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jul 21, 2025

UK minister lambasted after ‘dismissive’ response to Man Utd star’s free school meals plea as govt cave in to footballer’s demands

UK minister lambasted after ‘dismissive’ response to Man Utd star’s free school meals plea as govt cave in to footballer’s demands

A UK minister has come under fire after delivering a blunt response to Man Utd footballer Marcus Rashford’s plea to the government – that was duly acted on – to reverse a decision to stop giving free school meals to poor kids.

The 22-year-old English Premier League striker has been a notable critic of the UK government’s decision to halt its £15-a-week free meal vouchers for children over the summer holidays. On Tuesday Rashford tweeted a thread, asking the British public to imagine being in the shoes of a family struggling to make ends meet during the Covid-19 lockdown.

In the first of four tweets he asked people to “take a second to think about parents who have had their water turned off during lockdown.” It prompted the UK Work and Pensions Secretary – Therese Coffey – to harshly reply: “Water cannot be disconnected though.”

Rashford – who has gained much publicity with his campaign – hit back at the minister, saying that he was “concerned” this was the only response she had given in acknowledgement of his tweets on the risk of children going hungry, and called on Coffey to “put rivalries aside.”



Rashford’s campaign ultimately proved successful – with the UK government making a dramatic U-turn on Tuesday afternoon, just hours after the footballer’s altercation with Coffey. Explaining the change of heart, PM Boris Johnson’s spokesperson said: “Owing to the corona pandemic, the PM fully understands that children and parents face an entirely unprecedented situation over the summer.”

Coffey’s flippant reply to Rashford provoked a flurry of angry responses on social media with some people accusing the minister of “tone deafness,” and described her tweet as “Sneering, smug and vulgar.”

Former BBC journalist Ben Smith suggested the Tory minister was “detached from reality,” insisting that she should be “ashamed” of her comments that were “Dismissive, flippant, arrogant.”

Others took issue at her focus on how households will never be in a position whereby they will have their water supply cut off, with one commenter sarcastically joking: Can children eat water?

Coffey did reply rather belatedly to Rashford, with a more substantive response about what the government was doing to help struggling families during the pandemic, but was also given short shrift by her critics.

Reacting to the government’s reversal on free school meals for 1.3m vulnerable children, Rashford tweeted: “I don’t even know what to say. Just look at what we can do when we come together, THIS is England in 2020.”

Johnson’s administration had justified their refusal to back down by insisting that it was normal for the food voucher scheme to stop during summer holidays, but critics insisted that the country wasn’t living in “normal” times amid the coronavirus crisis, which has seen many people lose their jobs.

Both the Scottish and Welsh devolved governments plan to keep the provisions of school meal vouchers throughout the vacation period, while Northern Ireland says it will be stopped.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
×