Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver led protests in London today following the Government’s U-turn on their anti-obesity policy.

The Essex-born TV personality, who now lives in Finchingfield, spent time outside Downing Street surrounded by fellow protestors.

It comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that the Government was having to be “flexible” when it came to a delay in introducing a ban on buy-one-get-one-free promotions on unhealthy foods.

The Government had been set to axe multi-buy promotions on foods which are high in fat, sugar, or salt, HFSS, by the end of October.

However, these measures have since been pushed back to October 2023, alongside the delay of other anti-obesity measures such as bands on TV adverts for HFSS food and drink before the watershed.

Supermarket giants Tesco and Sainsbury’s have, however, committed to the original Government deadlines and said they will offer more discounts on healthier products.

Protestors took to Downing Street today, which was led by Essex celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.

Mr Oliver was seen front and centre in the protests with his Eton Mess, voicing anger and concern at the Government’s U-turn.

However, he had plenty of praise for the actions of supermarkets that have followed the original planned policy.

He told PA: “They’ve set the tone and I’m sure others will follow.

“We want to put child health first, the strategy was looking world-class and now it doesn’t.

“It’s our job to put it all back together again and make sure that we can build a better future for our kids.”

The Prime Minister, speaking to broadcasters during a visit to Powys in Wales, said: “We understand the vital importance of tackling obesity, it costs the NHS huge sums of money.

“Now, there are lots of things you’ve got to focus on, including diet, eating less, eating less is the most important thing, but there are some things at the moment where we think they make very little difference to obesity.

“They can affect people’s weekly outgoings, people’s budgets, and at this particular time, if people can save on their food bills with some offers, then I think we’ve just got to be flexible while continuing to tackle obesity.”