Daily Express: Why doctors want a tax on pies and cake

But last night there was outrage that favourite foods "would come under attack by the health police" and campaigners said the idea smacked of the nanny state.

Blair Gibbs, spokesman for the TaxPayers' Alliance said: "VAT is already levied on confectionery and most snacks, so politicians should not be directing people's food choices with new taxes that will hit low-income families the hardest and make everyone's weekly food shop more expensive."