Oh gosh, what a surprise...

... says Bob E, who emailed in this one-two-three-gotcha exchange between the Labour opposition, the civil servants and the Conservative government:

So, late Friday or early Saturday first this:

Ban high-sugar cereals to tackle child obesity, says Andy Burnham

Labour targets foods that can be over one-third sugar as OECD report says English children are among fattest in Europe.

And did the Department of Health have anything to say about this "demand"?

But the Department of Health said it has helped reduce the levels of fat, sugar and salt in foods. A spokesman said: "By working with industry through the Responsibility Deal we have helped to reduce fat, sugar and salt in foods. There is now less salt in the food we buy, companies are cutting and capping calories and artificial trans fats are being widely taken out of food.

"We are working to reduce the amount of salt in food further, cut saturated fat consumption and we are exploring how to promote healthier food choices more widely. We also want more businesses making pledges so we get bigger results."

... and yet, a scant few hours later ...

Childhood obesity: Jeremy Hunt threatens food industry with legislation

Supermarkets and manufacturers told to get 'their house in order' or face laws to curb high levels of sugar and fat in food

The health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has said he will consider introducing new laws to limit the amount of sugar, salt and fat in processed foods to curb childhood obesity but said he wanted to give supermarkets and manufacturers a chance to get their "house in order" before resorting to legislation.

The comments come after his Labour counterpart, Andy Burnham, announced a consultation on capping sugar and fat levels in food targeted at children. Hunt criticised the former health secretary for failing to tackle the problem while he was in power, and said Labour had left the nation with the highest childhood obesity rate in Europe.