Calls for return of Churchill’s national restaurant service to tackle food inequality

Public diners as seen in 1940s Britain - offering nutritious meals at reasonable prices - should be everyday eating places, says MP-backed report

In 1940s Britain, at a time before fast food and ready meals were staples of the British high street and in a country struggling to deal with the ramifications of war, a popular new restaurant chain was established.

It served high-quality meals at reasonable prices, attracted customers from the full spectrum of British society, and grew at a rate of 10 new sites a week at its most popular. The brains behind the operation? The British government, led by the prime minister, Winston Churchill.