SAJID Javid has DITCHED a ban on energy drinks for kids announced by the Government in 2019 in a flash of his Tory credentials.
Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock unveiled plans to outlaw selling products high in caffeine and sugar such as Monster and Red Bull just days before Boris Johnson became PM.
He claimed it was needed as “a precautionary approach to mitigate the potential negative effects associated with their excessive consumption by children”.
But now his successor has ditched the idea, with pals suggesting such nanny-state style meddling is “un-Conservative.”
A source close to the Health Secretary said: “We have to be extremely careful when thinking about these sorts of ideas, personal choice and personal responsibility is crucial.”
They added: “Sajid doesn’t think we should be banning the sale of energy drinks.
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“We are not going to be taking that forward as policy.”
The plan was junked after Welsh health bosses suggested their own version of the ban could be widened to include no tea and coffee.
Yesterday Downing Street distanced the UK government from the radical clampdown.
Telly GP Amir Kahn also attacked the plan, telling Lorraine: “There is no real evidence for long-term damage from caffeine in tea and coffee so let us be proportionate – a ban is probably not necessary.”
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Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics at free market think tank Institute of Economic Affairs, called the news “an outbreak of common sense” and “most welcome.”
He added: “With a can of Red Bull having less caffeine than most coffees on sale in Starbucks, there was never any scientific reason to pick on energy drinks.”
