"You got shamed into it by a football player, a young football player with a conscience".
Piers Morgan has sternly challenged health secretary Matt Hancock on whether he regretted voting against extending free school meals.
Hancock appeared on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday morning, where he was questioned on the scandal over free school meals vouchers being replaced with shockingly meager food parcels.
Food provider Chartwell apologised for the quality of the parcels after photos of the contents caused furor on social media.
"I am glad that they have apologised, they have clearly got to up their game," Hancock told Piers Morgan and Susannah Reid. "I want to see good high-quality food, I am really glad that we are able to send out food for those who receive free school meals when schools are in and I am really glad that we are able to do that when schools are out."
Morgan then said to Hancock: "If you are that glad, can I just ask you a difficult question: why did you vote against it?"
"Well I am really glad we were able to put it into place," Hancock replied.
https://twitter.com/GMB/status/1349281812657430529?s=20
"But if you are that glad that you were able to put it into place, why did you, as health secretary, vote against it?" responded Morgan.
"Because, the reason that I'm glad now, is we've been able to sort that out, and put that in place," said the health secretary.
An unsatisfied Morgan continued to grill Matt Hancock. "The reason you're glad now is that you got shamed into it by a football player, a young football player with a conscience, who managed to prick the conscience of you and the government. Do you regret voting against it?"
Hancock brought up again that he was glad that it was happening, but Morgan quickly interrupted, clarifying the question.
"You wouldn't have done it without Marcus Rashford campaigning. My question is for you is, given how glad you now are that it is happening, do you regret voting against it?"
"I'll put it this way" Hancock replied. In the first lockdown, we took this action..."
Morgan interrupted again, saying "Health secretary, you just have to say yes or no, whether you regret it. You either regret it or you don't."
"Well, I'm really glad that the situation has been resolved," was Hancock's response.
After being asked yet another time by Morgan, Matt Hancock said "I'm going to use my own words to describe my own feelings on this one."
Morgan finished the segment by saying: "Let's just hope that we don't have to rely, as we have to again this week, on Marcus Rashford, to once again, expose the inequity of this system.
"Because these kids are in lockdown, they are suffering, they are hungry, and they need support. They need proper support from you as health secretary and the government."
