LABOUR councillor Ian Cooper has slammed James Morris, claiming the Halesowen and Rowley Regis MP has put the needs of his party ahead of hungry children.

The Belle Vale councillor, who lost out to Mr Morris in the 2017 General Election, has criticised the Tory MP, saying he has voted to reduce entitlement to free school meals by new families claiming Universal Credit – while leaving their counterparts in Northern Ireland exempt.

But Mr Morris refutes the claims of the red party, saying they were proved to be “completely false” by Channel 4’s ‘Fact Check’.

Cllr Cooper, the former cabinet member for children’s services at Dudley Council, said: “This week James Morris voted to deprive one million families of free school meals by 2022.

“This is while he enjoys posh nosh at Wetherspoon prices in House of Commons subsidised dining rooms.

“I doubt he brings a packed lunch to his day job, so I want him to explain how he can enjoy these perks while voting to deprive children of free school meals in Halesowen and Rowley Regis – where one in four are in poverty – but spare Northern Irish families.

“This wasn’t done out of a sense of guilt. Is it something to do with his party’s deal with the Democratic Unionist Party to prop up his failing government?”

Mr Morris claims the new proposals will see 50,000 more children being eligible for free school meals.

He added: “No child in Halesowen and Rowley Regis will lose their free school meal and the roll out of Universal Credit means there will be an even bigger focus on supporting the most vulnerable children in our community.

“Labour is at war with itself over the big issues facing our country, and rather than setting out a plan for our country they have resorted to the worst kind of scaremongering, spreading unnecessary fear among our most vulnerable citizens to create a few cheap headlines.”