Boris Johnson is inconsistent in his public health policies

Editorial: The government has U-turned on healthy eating, appearing to give too much importance to the interests of the food companies

It all seems rather hit and miss, and does not inspire confidence that the right policies are being kept and the wrong ones binned (AFP/Getty)

Boris Johnson has shown all the steadiness of a wonky shopping trolley in his approach to healthy eating policy, as he has done on so many other subjects.

When he was a reactionary newspaper columnist he inveighed against the nanny state and accused the New Labour government of telling people what to eat. Then, when he was struck down with coronavirus, he appeared to undergo a conversion, going along with some broadly sensible public health proposals and launching a campaign against obesity.

He earned some plaudits by trading on his everyman image as a middle-aged food-lover who struggled with his weight. If we ever wanted a politician to embody the message – doubts and contradictions included – Mr Johnson seemed to be it.