Boris Johnson makes u-turn on Marcus Rashford’s free meals campaign

After playing in United’s Premier League clash against Everton on Saturday, Marcus received a personal phone call from the Prime Minister with the news of his decision to give £170 million of extra funding to disadvantaged children during the Christmas holidays. 

Last month the motion to feed over 1.4 million children during school breaks until Easter next year was controversially voted down by MPs, forcing the United star to create an opposing petition that went on to get more than a million signatures, which fuelled pressure on the Government to commit to more support.

After playing in yesterday’s 3-1 Premier League win against Everton, Rashford said: “I had a good conversation with the prime minister to better understand the proposed plan, and I very much welcome the steps that have been taken to combat child food poverty in the UK.”

The Government says £170 million funds will go to families in the greatest need over the next four months until March 2021.