THREAD. This is odd. Yesterday the Times criticised an old column of mine. Today it’s the Daily Mail. Apparently I dismissed the @HenryDimbleby national food strategy which proposed the same free school meals plan i and other ‘lefties’ are now praising @MarcusRashford for. 1/

Here for reference is the Andrew Pierce column if you fancy a read, complete with a wilful misreading of my column. 2/ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-8886163/ANDREW-PIERCE-darkly-ironic-free-school-meals-TORY-idea-shot-Left.html

And here are the relevant paragraphs from my August 1 column. As you’ll see Pierce really is wrong. I describe the free school meals stuff as laudable. The rest of it, not so much. Dimbleby fails in his strategy to consider the causes of poverty requiring those free meals 3/

But here’s what I find really odd. The whole idea of free meal provision during the holidays did not start with @HenryDimbleby. It started with @MarcusRashford, who experienced poverty first hand. He forced a govt u-turn in June, 10 weeks before the food strategy was published 4/

It’s clear Dimbleby developed Rashford’s ideas. It’s also clear that Rashford contacted Dimbleby for support. But can the idea of extra food provision for kids in poverty really be said to have come from Dimbleby or from the gifted footballer who grew up in poverty? 5/

We know the answer. And yet first we have a Times columnist bigging up his friend. And now the Mail. Yesterday when I pointed out it was Rashford’s campaign, not Dimbleby’s, the latter’s wife waded in to try and put me right 6/

She eventually conceded that no, Dimbleby had nothing to do with initiating Rashford’s summer campaign. I think we can be certain that Giles Coren would not have written his piece unless Dimbleby had been okay with it 7/

I think we can be certain that his wife would not have attempted to put me right unless Dimbleby was okay with it. What strikes me is that @HenryDimbleby is gagging to be given the credit for the whole idea. Because that’s what really matters isn’t it? (No.) 8/

Oh, and While @HenryDimbleby continues to try and get the credit he believes he’s due THE JOHNSON GOVERNMENT CONTINUES TO IGNORE THE ISSUE OF CHILDREN GOING HUNGRY. 9/

Us bloody lefties. Failing to get our priorities in order and misrepresenting everything. Or not. You decide. /End