A Tory MP has doubled down on his claims that struggling Brits forced to rely on food banks "cannot budget" and "cannot cook properly".
Lee Anderson triggered a major backlash when he told MPs there was not "massive use for foodbanks" and instead blamed poverty-stricken families for not knowing how to cook.
The Ashfield MP dug in despite the criticism over his controversial remarks - and declared: "I'm glad it caused all this fuss".
He claimed he wasn't a "nasty Tory" but stuck by his stance that generations of Brits don't know how to cook and the Government "can't keep throwing money at the problem".
"The point I was trying to make is that I think the the actual food bank usage is is exaggerated," Mr Anderson told TimesRadio.
He said he had attended cooking and budgeting courses at his local foodbank for users where they learned to feed a family of five over a weekend for £50.
Mr Anderson said: "The point I was trying to make is that yes, we've got lots of food banks.
"But actually, if we get to the real nub of the problem in a lot of cases, then there are generations of people out there that simply haven't got the skills to to budget properly and to go shopping and do a proper weekly shop like we used to back in the day, and use of fresh ingredients to make nutritious meals.
"That's the point I'm making and I'm so glad it's caused all this fuss because it brings that debate out."
Asked if people needed education more than food, he said: "Obviously people need food. That's a ridiculous question... What I'm saying is you can't just keep throwing money at a problem, eventually, you've got to try and get to the root cause of the problem."
Mr Anderson said struggling families could learn to cook to cut back on "takeaways and the chip shop".
He said: "It's a lot cheaper than spending money on frozen foods and junk foods and takeaways and the chip shop stuff like once they find out they can actually have nice, nutritious, healthy meals on a daily basis and actually have a few more quid in the pocket. And surely it has got to be a winner."
The Prime Minister's spokesman said Mr Johnson recognised that people across the country were under major pressure.
Asked if the PM agreed with Mr Anderson, the PM's spokesman said: "We recognise the challenging circumstances people are facing across the country that’s why we’re taking significant action to help people… and we stand ready to do more."
Asked if people could eat healthily on 30p, he said: “I think there are a number of people up and down the country facing significant challenges and difficult choices and that’s not something we want to see.”
Prisons minister Victoria Atkins distanced herself from the remarks, insisting it was "not the view of me or anyone else in Government".
Responding to a suggestion that the comments accused people of using food banks to get a "ready meal" because "they can't be bothered cooking", Ms Atkins said: "Yeah, that's not right and that's absolutely not right.
"I've spent my ministerial career working with very vulnerable people ... cooking lessons will not be the complete solution to that."
Food banks provided more than 19 million meals in the year to March as hard-up Brits struggled with the mounting cost of living crisis.
The Trussell Trust gave away 2,173,158 emergency parcels in the 12 months from last April. With each package containing enough food for three meals a day for three days, it means 19,558,422 meals were provided.
Of the more than two million packages, 832,109 - containing enough ingredients for nearly seven-and-a-half million meals - went to children.
Mr Anderson previously made headlines after he boycotted England matches during the 2020 Euros due to the players taking the knee to protest against racism before games.
