Sunak’s government facing backlash over junk food advert ban delay

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is facing a furious backlash from health experts after his government yet again delayed plans for a ban on pre-watershed TV advertising for junk food.

A ban on adverts for foods high in fat, salt and sugar before 9pm was due to come into force from January 2023, as well as a ban on “buy one get one free” deals on junk food. However, in May, it was delayed for a year by the then prime minister Boris Johnson.

The policy’s implementation has now been delayed further until 2025.

The latest delay has infuriated healthy food campaigners and industry experts, who are calling on Sunak to at least stick to Johnson’s 2024 target.

“Delaying junk food advertising restrictions is a shocking move by the government, with no valid justification to do so, other than giving a flimsy excuse that businesses need more time to prepare and reformulate,” said Katharine Jenner, director of the Obesity Health Alliance.

“This is the action of a government that seems to care more about its own short-term political health than the longer-term health of children.”

It comes as a study published by the BMJ on Wednesday (7) stated that cases of type 2 diabetes in children and young adults have risen faster in Britain than anywhere else in the world, according to .

It represents a near four-fold increase in younger people being diagnosed with the condition since 1990, which Diabetes UK says is in part due to deprived families being “pushed towards unhealthy options”.

The charity’s chief executive Chris Askew said the delay to 2025 is “shameful” and “disgraceful”, adding, delaying action will disproportionately impact the lowest income households, who have less access to healthy food and are targeted by a greater amount of advertising of unhealthy food.

“The government’s shameful decision to delay these vital measures means that people living in the most deprived areas will continue to be pushed towards unhealthy options, further entrenching the health inequalities that exist in rates of type 2 diabetes and obesity in England.”