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The prime minister has said it is “sad” that parents are watering down baby formula because they cannot afford to feed their children.

Sky News reported last year on measures parents have turned to after inflation spiked the cost of the powdered milk product.

This included watering down and even stealing products in order to make ends meet amid the cost of living crisis.

Follow live: Sunak responds to criticism of ‘depraved bet’

Asked about the situation parents have found themselves in, Rishi Sunak told the BBC: “My job is to make sure everyone has the financial security that they want for them and their families.

“And of course, I’m sad to hear that someone’s in that situation.”

He added: “Of course it’s sad if someone’s got a little one in their lives and they’re having to do that. That’s an incredibly sad thing.

“But my job is to make sure that we can ease those pressures, and actually, if you look at what was causing those pressures, it was inflation: inflation being at 11%, prices going up by that much every year, it was a real struggle for people.

“That’s why it was important that we prioritised bringing inflation down. It is now coming down. That is real, that will have an impact on people because it will start to ease some of those pressures.”

Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak gestures as he meets with Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo at Downing Street, London, Britain, January 23, 2024. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/Pool
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Sunak has said it is ‘sad’ parents had to dilute the sustenance. Pic: Reuters

Inflation was still at 4% at the end of 2023, meaning prices were still rising above the Bank of England’s 2% target.

In order to reduce price growth, the Bank – which is independent of the government – has raised interest rates, putting up the cost of borrowing for consumers on loans and mortgages – also leading to increased rents.

At the time of Sky’s reporting in summer 2023, the price of the cheapest brand of baby formula had increased by 45% in the previous two years.

Read more:
Baby formula prices a ‘catastrophe’- MP
Mum feels ‘attacked’ over ‘jaw-dropping’ prices

Other brands have risen between 17% and 31% in that time period.

Regulations state that all baby formulas must meet the same standards – so the cheapest brand will provide all the same necessary nutrition as the most expensive.

As well as watering down their products, Sky News also spoke to parents who had stolen formula, bought it on the black market or substituted it with condensed milk.

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‘Are families being exploited? Yes’

World Health Organisation technical officer Laurence Grummer-Strawn previously told Sky News that companies were “exploiting” people in a “very vulnerable situation” in order to “increase the profits of these companies, and they have huge profit margins”.

He called for the government to intervene “either on the price end or in ways to help those families directly”.

“Lowering the prices can help these families, but it needs to be in a sustainable way,” he added.

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Roman Storm’s lawyers signal continuance if court allows hacker’s testimony

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Roman Storm’s lawyers signal continuance if court allows hacker’s testimony

Roman Storm’s lawyers signal continuance if court allows hacker’s testimony

The Tornado Cash co-founder is scheduled to go to trial on Monday, but his defense attorneys are still waiting on rulings for motions over witnesses in the case.

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Migrants deal a win for Starmer – and could help with fight against Reform

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Migrants deal a win for Starmer - and could help with fight against Reform

The bromance between Sir Keir Starmer and President Macron is so apparent – embraces all around.

This is some deft diplomacy from Sir Keir, who has been love-bombing his French counterpart ever since he became prime minister – trying to get closer ties, be it on security, on trade, and now of course on small boats.

And he has got a win today – he’s got President Macron to agree a deterrent deal.

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You remember the Conservatives were trying the Rwanda plan to deter people from coming by sending them back to Rwanda, a third country, if they came here illegally.

What the prime minister has agreed with President Macron today is a big deal. It’s a one in, one out deal.

What they’re going to do is, if someone arrives here illegally, they will be sent back to France, and in return, the UK will accept a legitimate asylum seeker. It might be someone who has family ties.

More on Migrant Crisis

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How people smugglers dodge French police

It’s going to start off really small – think of it as a pilot – as they’re going to test it out, see if it works.

It might be just a handful of people being sent back, maybe just under a thousand or so by the end of the year. But they will hopefully, for the prime minister, scale it up and it could become a real deterrent.

Read more from Sky News:
Ex-Tory chairman defects to Reform

Farage hits back at Macron over Brexit row

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Farage reacts to UK-France migrant deal

I’ll leave you with just one more thought: As Prime Minister Starmer and President Macron were doing this deal today, Nigel Farage was in the English Channel documenting illegal migrants making that crossing – 79 people being picked up by Border Force, taken off a dinghy and into Dover.

Polling out this morning by Portland suggests four in 10 voters who are planning on going to Reform would go back to Labour if the prime minister tackles small boats and drives down the crossings.

There is a real political imperative for him to try to start to resolve this problem. It’s going to count at the ballot box – immigration is a top-three issue in this country when it comes to voters.

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US lawmakers to discuss crypto tax policy amid push to pass three bills

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US lawmakers to discuss crypto tax policy amid push to pass three bills

US lawmakers to discuss crypto tax policy amid push to pass three bills

The hearing notice suggested a focus on a tax framework for digital assets, but did not mention specific witnesses or policies previously proposed.

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