POLITICIANS and celebrities have backed a campaign by the National Education Union (NEU) urging the government to make free school meals a top priority for all.

No Child Left Behind launched a national van tour from the Department of Health and Social Care in London on Tuesday to call for an extension of free school meals to every primary schoolchild in England.

The campaign, which is supported by the likes of TV host Konnie Huq and Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana, follows a successful launch of the van in Westminster over the summer.

It will visit schools and events throughout the month before its final stop at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool on September 24.

NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said: “One in five schools in England now report running foodbanks.

“Our school communities are doing all they can but a crisis of this scale requires government intervention.

“We’re asking this Parliament to commit to ending child hunger in our schools so every child can learn and thrive.”