UK coronavirus live: Johnson promises no child will go hungry as he faces free school meals backlash
Downing Street faces Tory revolt as MPs grow angry at government's refusal to extend scheme during October half-term
3.10pm GMT
The defence secretary Ben Wallace insisted the UK government had been incredibly generous" during the pandemic.
He told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme:
People have access to Universal Credit and in response to this issue of Covid, we've increased that by over 1,000 a year. At the same time we've given local authorities 63m in England and Wales to be able to focus specifically on families in need.
The government will always look at cases as they come in front of them, that is part of the function of the government, which is to problem-solve as we see something.
If there is still need or if this Covid crisis continues to kick in and more lockdowns happen, of course the government will look at other alternatives, or other solutions. We're not going to sit there in a static environment.
Overall this government has been, from everything from business rate relief, to wages subsidies, to increase in benefits, has been incredibly generous with tax receipts to make sure we get through this crisis.
I don't think anyone can say - our schemes are some of the most generous in Europe - and I think as a result people will understand that we're always trying to make sure that when we help, we help those most in need, but at the same time balance the other requirements of the economy and indeed of public spending.
3.07pm GMT
The debate over the government's provision of free school meals during the holidays sounds like it is from Victorian times, according to George The Poet.
The spoken word artist, whose real name is George Mpanga, added that it is weird" the cause had to be taken up by footballer Marcus Rashford before it became an issue that is widely discussed.
It's weird that we are having conversations that sound like they are from the Victorian era in 2020.
It is weird that Marcus Rashford, as much as I love and respect what he's about and what he's chosen to represent, it is weird that it falls on his shoulders, or he's had to take up the mantle.
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