Humble Pie

James Lyons writes:

Norman Tebbit has admitted people are being forced to use food banks because they are wrongly being denied benefits.

The Tory grandee, 83, recently sparked anger by suggesting ­claimants took emergency handouts to save money which they then spent on junk food.

But he said he was eating “humble pie” after seeing a food bank in action.

Writing on his blog, he went on: “I was impressed with the quality and dedication of the people working there.

“There was a systematic approach to uncovering the deeper problems which had brought people to the point where they simply did not have enough money to buy adequate food.

“Some had fallen foul of the bureaucratic processes of welfare support, leaving them waiting for, or even denied, the cash support to which they were entitled.”

Lord Tebbit, who once urged the jobless to get on their bikes and find work, had previously attacked the huge growth in food banks which handed out more than a million parcels last year.

He claimed their popularity was down to “near infinite demand for valuable goods given away free”.

But after visiting the Trussell Trust food bank in Haverhill, Suffolk, the former Employment Secretary and party chairman admitted: “There was no slap-happy handing over of boxes.

“The staff worked through ­procedures to establish whether the claimant was genuine and how he or she came to be in such need.

“Sometimes that was the failure of the bureaucracy, sometimes alcohol or family breakup.

“But whatever it turned out to be there was someone to act as a champion, offering counselling on money management, job-seeking or further education.”

The right-winger said the visit made him think that too many young people had not been taught how to look after themselves and find a job.