A GWENT food bank has said comments made by a Tory MP that people who need to use such services “cannot cook properly” and “cannot budget” left them in a state of shock.

Lee Anderson, MP for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, invited “everybody” on the opposition benches in the Commons to visit a food bank in his constituency where, when people come for a food parcel, they now need to register for a “budgeting course” and a “cooking course”.

Asked by a Labour MP if it should be necessary to have food banks in 21st century Britain, the MP for Ashfield said there is not “this massive use for food banks” in the UK, but “generation after generation who cannot cook properly” and “cannot budget”.

Mr Anderson also claimed the scheme adopted by a foodbank in his constituency allowed people to “make a meal for 30p a day”.

But his comments have been widely criticised, with some urging the MP to apologise.

Now, Risca Foodbank has hit back at the comments and called for Mr Anderson to re-educate himself in what food banks actually do.

“I was gobsmacked,” Volunteer Adrian Browning told the Argus.

“I don’t think he knows the meaning of what foodbanks actually do.

“Our foodbank in Risca has seen a forty per cent increase in recent weeks. It’s not about a lack of food, it’s about income.

“We’re having parents skipping meals so they’re able to feed their children. People can’t even afford to put the oven on.

“How can he say that people can make a meal on 30 pence?”

A number of Gwent’s MPs have also spoken out following Mr Anderson’s comments.

South Wales Argus: MPs Ruth Jones, Nick Thomas-Symonds and Jessica Morden.MPs Ruth Jones, Nick Thomas-Symonds and Jessica Morden.

Labour MP for Newport East Jessica Morden said: “I’m sure, like me, many of the families in Newport East who have no choice but to access food parcels were stunned by just how out of touch Mr Anderson is.

“This week, I spoke as part of the Queen’s Speech debate and highlighted just how much people are struggling to keep themselves fed and warm.

“I hear every day from people who have nowhere to turn, who just want to live a life where they aren’t worrying about whether they can heat or eat. They aren’t looking for luxuries – they’re struggling for the basics and this government is just leaving them behind.

“Mr Anderson’s perceptions of people who use food banks are out of touch and disappointing.”

Newport West MP Ruth Jones said: “Lee Anderson’s comments  in the House of Commons were grossly out of touch and deeply offensive.

“People on low incomes are some of the best budgeters around and suggesting they're at fault when it's the Tories that have continually failed to support them is frankly an insult.

"Working people up and down the country are facing soaring energy costs and rising prices in supermarkets, but all the budgeting skills in the world won't change the root cause of the issue, that decisions taken by successive Tory Governments are driving people into food bank use."

Labour MP for Torfaen Nick Thomas-Symonds said: “Lee Anderson’s comments are completely out of touch with the reality facing millions of families across the country.

“People are struggling to pay their bills and put food on the table. It is not cooking or budgeting skills to blame for this – it is the choices of the Conservative Government over the past 12 years that have pushed people into poverty.”

Mr Anderson has refused to apologise for his comments, pointing the finger instead at the way they had been reported.

Writing on Facebook he said: “Gutter Press Again.

“I did not say poor people cannot cook or there is no need for food banks. I said there is not the need currently being parrotted out by the MSM (mainstream media)."