Labour vows to ban junk food ads during kids' favourite shows

Adverts for junk food and sweets during TV programmes popular with children would be banned by a Labour government.

The ban, part of a proposed childhood obesity crackdown, would affect shows such as The X Factor, Hollyoaks and Britain's Got Talent.

Adverts for unhealthy products high in fat, salt or sugar are already banned on children's TV, but Labour wants to extend the ban to all programmes before the 9pm watershed.

The party is also promising to create a £250m-a-year fund to employ more school nurses with the aim of making UK youngsters the healthiest in the world.

Labour says its goal is to halve the number of overweight children within 10 years in an effort to curb the £6bn annual cost to the NHS of tackling obesity.

The party is also planning to match Theresa May's pledge to tackle child mental health problems by boosting counselling services in primary and secondary schools.

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"The scandal of child ill-health is a long-standing, growing and urgent challenge," says shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth, who is launching the new policy.

"It should be matter of shame that a child's health is so closely linked to poverty and that where and in what circumstances you grow up can dramatically affect your life chances."

He added: "When it comes to our children we should be ambitious. It's time we invested properly in the health of the next generation. That means the sort of bold action we are outlining today to tackle obesity and invest in mental health provision.

"Labour will put children at the heart of our health strategy and put measures in place to make Britain's children the healthiest in the world."