You'll go down in history for killing off Ronald McDonald

CITY MP Nigel Griffiths was today accused of wanting to kill off fast-food mascot Ronald McDonald.

The former Consumer Minister is promoting a Private Member's Bill to ban television ads for junk food before 9pm in a bid to tackle the problem of childhood obesity.

In the Commons today Mr Griffiths, Labour MP for Edinburgh South, said the impact of obesity had been likened to that of climate change. It was a "disaster for the lives of individuals, our health service and our economy".

And he told MPs: "Massive funding to advertise and promote junk foods – £800 million a year – is undermining the efforts of parents to control the food and sugary drinks that children take."

But Tory MP Nigel Evans claimed Mr Griffiths' proposed bill would outlaw Ronald McDonald, the clown mascot of fast food chain McDonald's, which appears in TV ads.

He asked: "Does he really want to go down in history as the man who killed Ronald McDonald?"

Mr Griffiths replied: "I certainly don't want to go down in history for putting the health of our advertising industry and McDonald's ahead of the health of our children."

Mr Evans added: "Tony the Tiger, the Honey Monster – all these characters would be assassinated in one fell swoop by this legislation. The only person left would be Father Christmas."

Today's debate on Mr Griffiths' Bill came as the British Heart Foundation published a survey showing almost a third of parents leave their children at home to avoid rows in the supermarket over junk food.

The survey found 53 per cent of parents had been asked for junk food that came with a free toy or token, 45 per cent had been asked for items their children had seen on television and 41 per cent had been pestered for food with a cartoon character on the packaging.

British Heart Foundation spokeswoman Betty McBride said: "Banning junk food pester power ammunition from supermarket shelves will make it easier for parents to make healthier food choices for their families."

But Tory MP Julie Kirkbride said she had experienced "pester power" in relation to toys, but questioned whether it was a factor in junk food. She said: "I don't agree children are so motivated by food advertising."

And she suggested the effectiveness of the recently introduced ban on junk food ads during children's programmes should be assessed before any move to extend the ban to 9pm.

But Mr Griffiths said Ms Kirkbride must be one of the luckiest parents in the country if she had not been pestered for candy bars or fizzy drinks. And Lib Dem Martin Horwood, MP for Cheltenham, said: "I have certainly been subjected to pester power and I would cheerfully see the back of Ronald McDonald who has been responsible for some of it."