June 15

Mrs Thatcher's milk cuts earned her the nickname 'Thatcher milk snatcher'

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Opposition is growing to Education Secretary Margaret Thatcher's plans to end free school milk for children over the age of seven.

The bill received its second reading last night. It was passed by 281 votes to 248, a government majority of 33.

The Conservatives have issued a warning to local authorities not to go ahead with any plans to break the law deliberately.

Some Labour-controlled councils have threatened to put up the rates in order to continue supplying free milk.

New buildings

But Mrs Thatcher said increasing the rates would, in turn, mean that central government would have to provide more money through the rate support grant.

She has argued that ending free milk for all but nursery and primary children would free up more money to spend on other areas of education, like new buildings.

At present free milk for primary school children costs ?4m a year - twice as much as is being spent on school books.

In a full year the saving on milk provision will be about ?m.

Mrs Thatcher told MPs the Chief Medical Officer had been consulted on the plans and he had advised that it was not possible to predict whether the withdrawal of free milk would harm children's diets and overall health.

However, the government has asked for the effects to be monitored and promised to carry out a review if necessary.

Labour's education spokesman Edward Short attacked the Tories' proposals as "the meanest and most unworthy thing" he had seen in his 20 years in the House of Commons.

Labour reckons the number of children getting free milk will be reduced from five million to just over two million.

Harold Wilson's Labour government stopped free milk for secondary school pupils in 1968.

More than 300 troops will stay behind

The departure of the prestigious Royal Marines was overseen by UK Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, who said his government was proud of what they had done to restore stability.

Britain, the former colonial power in Sierra Leone, is handing responsibility for security to the United Nations.

About 300 UK troops and support staff will stay on in the war-torn African country for the next six to eight weeks to help establish a UK military advisory training team.

Most people in Freetown would prefer to see the British military continuing their confidence-building street patrols, but UK ministers always insisted their mission to help the UN forces there was a short-term one.

"They did appear on the verge of collapse." Brigadier David Richards said.

Brigadier David Richards, commander of the British forces in Sierra Leone, told BBC Radio's Today programme: "The UN have a much stronger resolve now and are clearer about their mandate and have shown that they have the resolve to fight.

"When we arrived here about six weeks ago, they did appear on the verge of collapse. Today they have been transformed."

At the core of the continuing British effort will be the retraining of thedemoralisedSierra Leone army.

Many of its soldiers are poorly trained and equipped and their ranks have featured children.

Sierra Leone continues to facehorrendousproblems. A war is being fought in the countryside about which there is little reliable information.

The UN says that one million people have been affected.

The rebels hold the main diamond-producing area, which deprives the government of revenue and, it is alleged, attracts support for the rebels from neighbouring Liberia.

demoralize:to undermine the confidence or morale of;dishearten （士氣受挫）

horrendous:hideous; dreadful（可怕的）