Sue Perkins has branded Matt Hancock “an utter, smirking dick” in a lacerating attack on The Last Leg on Friday night.
The former Great British Bake Off presenter hit out at the health secretary over his recent interview on Good Morning Britain, where he was pressed over the free school meals debacle.
The interview saw Hancock repeatedly refuse to answer if he regretted voting against extending the free school meals policy while schools were closed due to the pandemic last year.
Instead, he repeatedly said he was “glad” the policy had been put in place, telling Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid: “We’ve sorted it out and I’m going to use my own words to describe my own feelings on this one.”
Reacting to the interview during an appearance on The Last Leg, Sue did not hold back with her feelings.
“Oh god, you utter cock,” she shouted as a clip of GMB finished playing.
“In the spirit of that, I’d like to describe Matt Hancock in the best way that represents my feelings; utter, smirking dick,” Sue said.
“It’s inappropriate! It’s inappropriate to sit there in an oxblood toilet – which is where it looks like he’s broadcasting from – smiling as somebody basically asks him to be humble because he has lied and disseminated nonsense and he’s allowed kids to go without food.”
Addressing the state of some meagre food parcels struggling families have been receiving since schools closed once again, Sue continued: “Of course that’s what businesses do, they make huge profits out of other people’s suffering. But really, this should be in the hands of public health and no one should go hungry.
“We’re the fifth largest economy in the world, and the response to that is, put your hands up, ‘I’ve done something wrong.’ Not sit there grinning like a Cheshire cat and refuse to own it.
“It’s awful.”
Comedian Munya Chawawa, who appeared alongside Sue on the Channel 4 show, also joked: “Matt Hancock is the kind of guy who’d have a questionnaire sat in front of him: ‘Are you experiencing symptoms of Covid: Yes. No. Prefer Not To Say.’ And he adds a box saying: ‘Glad.’”
The health secretary’s appearance on GMB came after parents posted images of food parcels expected to last a child 10 days. One picture was estimated to contain just over £5 worth of food. The packages are expected to contain £30 worth of food.
The government has since confirmed that weekly £15 meal vouchers would be reintroduced for low income families as of Monday, while footballer Marcus Rashford has called for an urgent review of free school meals to fix the system long term.
The Last Leg airs on Fridays at 10pm on Channel 4.