THE MP for Shipley has urged the Government not to adopt "Nanny State" type rules in its effort to reduce the number of children who are obese.

Philip Davies, whose constituency includes Cullingworth and Denholme, said Conservatives should be promoting parental responsibility.

He made the comments as the Government published its second chapter of the childhood obesity plan.

It wants to reduce the gap between the most and least deprived areas and achieve a national target of halving numbers of children classed as obese by 2030.

Mr Davies said: “May I remind the Minister that he is actually supposed to be a Conservative and urge him to think about this from a Conservative standpoint, which focuses on things like parental responsibility and not seeking to ban anything that moves?"

Mr Davies has previously said that no food is unhealthy if eaten in moderation and as part of a balanced diet.

But Health and Social Care Minister Steve Brine said obesity was putting a strain on the NHS.

He added: “This is a publicly funded health service that we all believe in and all love. If we want it to celebrate its 140th birthday, we need to protect it, and that means getting serious about prevention and stopping people coming into the service and getting sick.

"Everyone in the House – Conservative, Labour and everyone in between – should get behind that.”

Measures proposed by the Government include banning sweets and calorific snacks at checkouts and at shop entrances and excluding them from buy-one-get-one-free offers.

The Government is also considering stopping unhealthy food being advertised on TV, pre-watershed.

Mr Brine said nearly one in four children are overweight or obese before they start school, and that reducing weight can combat bullying and low self-esteem.

Mr Davies added: “We would not expect a Conservative government to set up an unhealthy food police.

"Giving people information is a good thing, but banning things is disproportionate, authoritarian and will be ineffective."