Our new Government is still learning the ropes…and the first few weeks in power have shown just how tangled those ropes are when it comes to handling the media.
Today another cabinet minister, this time Health Minister Andrew Lansley managed to direct a comprehensive shot to his own foot when he informed the BMA conference in Brighton that Jamie Oliver had got it wrong about school meals. We can imagine his press team’s delight that the Minister was giving a bold and controversial policy statement “yes Minister…a very, er brave decision”.
But the Naked Chef knows a thing or two about soundbites, and his immediate response (he could be anywhere in the world, but he will make sure the press gets their quote) was “I’m not encouraged by the news that the new health minister has summed up 8 years of hard work in a few lines for the sake of a headline.” Ouch. Swiftly followed up by support from the UK Faculty of Public Health who describes Mr Lansley’s speech as “deeply distressing” and there you have it. An object lesson in how to take an inexperienced Government Minister and give him a roasting. With a nice bit of stuffing on the side.
Tags: Andrew Lansley, BMA, Faculty of public health, Government, health minister, Jamie Oliver, Media, Naked chef, press, School Dinners
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