Boris Johnson landed himself in fresh controversy yesterday after he appeared to denounce TV chef Jamie Oliver for trying to promote a healthy diet for schoolchildren.
The South Oxfordshire MP, was reported to have told a fringe meeting at the Conservative conference in Bournemouth he disagreed with Mr Oliver's campaign - one that Tory leader David Cameron heaped praise on during his opening speech to representatives.
"I would ban sweets from school - but this pressure to bring in healthy food is too much," the BBC reported him as saying.
Later Mr Johnson told reporters: "I have been completely misquoted. Jamie Oliver is a national hero.
"The BBC are completely wrong. What I said was 'let them eat liver and bacon'."
A pack of journalists followed a bemused Mr Johnson out of the conference centre on to the Bournemouth seafront, where he repeatedly asked "What's the story?", before heaping more praise on the TV chef.
Mr Cameron told the conference on Sunday that Jamie Oliver had done more to improve school dinners than the Department for Education and called for more such initiatives.
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