PM defends sandwiches after Badenoch swipes they're 'not real food'

Westminster witnessed a sarnie barney today as Sir Keir Starmer defended the lunchtime staple as a 'great British institution'.

The Prime Minister came out in support of sandwiches - and was revealed to be a fan of the tuna variety - after Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said they are not 'real food'.

In a magazine interview, Ms Badenoch also claimed that 'lunch is for wimps' after asking: 'What's a lunch break?'

'I have food brought in and I work and eat at the same time. There's no time... sometimes I will get a steak,' she added.

'I'm not a sandwich person, I don't think sandwiches are a real food, it's what you have for breakfast. Soggy bread is a no-no: I will not touch bread if it's moist.'

In response to Ms Badenoch's remarks to the Spectator, Downing Street highlighted how sandwiches are thought to be worth billions of pounds to the UK economy.

Asked about the PM's views, Sir Keir's official spokesman said: 'I think he was surprised to hear that the Leader of the Opposition has a steak brought in for lunch.

'The Prime Minister is quite happy with a sandwich lunch.'

No10 described the sandwich as a 'great British institution' which, according to the British Sandwich Association, brings in £8billion a year to the UK economy.

Quizzed about Sir Keir's favourite sandwich is, the spokesman said: 'I think he enjoys a tuna sandwich and occasionally a cheese toastie.'

The sandwich saga deepened this afternoon, as Ms Badenoch used social media to respond to Downing Street.

'The PM has time to respond to my jokes about lunch…but no time for the farmers who produce our food,' she posted, in reference to Labour's controversial changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief from inheritance tax.

'He refused to answer questions because he doesn’t care. It’s an ideological attack on farmers and will destroy lives.

'The Conservatives will reverse his cruel Family Farm Tax.'

Ms Badenoch's rant about sandwiches came as she detailed how she was finding life as Conservative leader, nearly six weeks on from replacing Rishi Sunak in the role.

'It's like a start-up,' she told the magazine, adding: 'Everyone around me in the leader of the opposition office is there because of me - not because they happened to be there when I got there. That changes the dynamic quite a bit.'

Ms Badenoch said the 'biggest difference' so far between being a Cabinet minister and Leader of the Opposition is that the role is 'actually a lot less lonely'.

'We are creating an office in our image and our mindset and that's different to going into the civil service and government departments,'  she continued.

Her distaste for a bread-based lunch is not shared by her former Cabinet colleagues. 

During the general election campaign, then PM Mr Sunak described himself as a 'big sandwich person' and said his 'favourite meal generally is sandwiches'.

Former deputy PM Dominic Raab's go-to order from Pret a Manger was known to be a chicken caesar and bacon baguette, a superfruit salad and a watermelon smoothie.

It became so notorious, amid reports that he ate it every single day, that it was known as the 'Dom Raab special'.

Sir Keir has previously spoken of how he stopped eating meat around 25 years ago after leaving university.

He initially gave up fish as well but has since reintroduced it to his diet. Appearing on ITV's This Morning last month, the PM spoke about his culinary skills and his signature dish.

'It is the one the kids make me do over and over again, so a pasta bake where you do layers of sauce, handmade sauce and then um, different cheeses and you layer it up with a sauce on top,' he told the programme.