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Finally, MPs can now buy kosher and halal food in Parliament
Change comes after years of campaigning
October 20, 2021 13:24
Change comes after years of campaigning
October 20, 2021 13:24After years of campaigning, kosher and halal food is being served to MPs and their guests in Parliament.
It comes after Jewish Labour MP Charlotte Nichols and Muslim Labour MP Zarah Sultana wrote a joint letter to MPs urging them to support the call to make kosher and halal food available.
Ms Nichols tweeted that she was “delighted” at being able choose from five kosher and halal options at work, after the menu was launched on the parliamentary estate.
The move follows a “de-facto ban” of kosher and halal meat from Houses of Parliament catering, which came to light in 2018 after enquiries were made by then-senior parliamentary assistant to Tulip Siddiq, Jay Magnus-Stoll.
Mr Stoll inquired about the possibility of kosher food being provided in Parliament’s nine restaurants and canteens, but was told menus were governed by guidelines written by groups including the RSPCA and the British Veterinary Association –long-standing critics of non-stun slaughter.
When Ms Nichols and her Labour colleague Zarah Sultana, who is Muslim, became MPs in 2019, they pushed for kosher and halal provisions to be made available.
The pair co-ordinated a cross party letter to MPs “of all faiths and none” calling on them to write to parliamentary authorities asking them to provide kosher and halal food.
The decision to supply Kosher and hallah food was set to launch in March 2020, however lockdown meant the launch was postponed until now.
Ms Nichols shared the menu on Tuesday’s which included dishes such as chicken schnitzel, beef goulash, Moroccan salmon, and roast chicken.
The meals from kosher caterers 1070 Kitchen are prepared in separate kitchens.
Ms Nichols said: “There are many things that need to be done to make parliament more accessible, but small steps like this can make a big difference.”