A FOOD anti-poverty campaigner appeared on ITV's Good Morning Britain to highlight how inaccurate the 5 per cent cost of living rise.

Jack Monroe, from Southend, claimed on the show that prices haven’t just gone up by 5% and challenged the latest inflation figures.

On the show she said: “The 5% figure is arrived at by looking at about 700 different goods over the years, and those goods include champagne, a leg of lamb, bedroom furniture, television and a smart phone. 

"So, the retail price index and consumer price index aren't looking at basic bread, basic rice basic pasta, basic beans, which would be a much more accurate reflection of how the pricing is affecting people on the lowest income.”

In a tweet that went viral Jack highlighted the increases in basic food staples.

The cheapest pasta in her local supermarket was 29p per 500g in 2021, with today it being 70p for the same amount; an increase of 141 per cent.

The cheapest rice at the same store was 45p for a 1kg, now it is £1 for half the amount (500g), an increase of 344 per cent.

The food anti-poverty campaigner told the Good Morning Britain panel how this hits the poorest and most vulnerable households the most.

She said: "The basket that accesses the figures is so skewed outside of my experience and everyone I know, experience.

“When we've got two and a half million people in the UK using food banks now, we don't have people running out to buy bottles of champagne.  

“We need a much more accurate price reflection to show what it is really like for people on the sharp end of things.”

What do you think about this? Have you suffered as a result of such high food price increases? Email and tell us your story sophie.england@newsquest.co.uk