About 1.3m children in England will be able to claim free school meal vouchers in the summer holidays, after a campaign by footballer Marcus Rashford. The Manchester United forward, 22, welcomed the six-week voucher for eligible children, saying, ‘Look at what we can do when we come together’. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the move was a ‘welcome u-turn’. Boris Johnson praised Mr Rashford's ‘contribution to the debate around poverty’. During the lockdown the government has been providing vouchers to families whose children qualify for free meals, but had insisted this would not continue outside term time. However, following an open letter by Rashford, who had needed free school meals himself, and a petition signed by 266,000, this decision was reversed.