"Naked Chef" sets sights on packed lunches

LONDON, Sep 8 (Reuters) Jamie Oliver, the television chef famous for his crusade to improve school dinners, lashed out at parents over the food they give to their children.

Speaking at the launch of his new TV programme, yesterday Oliver said 70 per cent of packed lunches in Britain were ''disgraceful'' and he would like to see them banned.

He said the decisions parents made regarding the diets of their children were sometimes just plain wrong.

''I've spent two years being politically correct about parents but it's time to say, if you're giving your young kids fizzy drinks, you're an a***hole and a tosser,'' Oliver said.

''If you give them bags of crisps, you're an idiot. If you aren't cooking them a hot meal, sort it out.'' Oliver said headteachers were too frightened of some parents to tell them what they should give their child to bring to school.

He was particularly critical of parents who give their children Red Bull -- an energy drink -- when they are tired, saying it was not much better than giving them a line of cocaine.

Oliver's new programme, ''Jamie's Return to School Dinners'', is a follow-up to his successful Channel 4 series on improving school meals.

Reuters PB DB0952