Pregnant woman ate Smash for three weeks after being sacked without pay, says MP

A pregnant woman ate nothing but Smash for three weeks after she was sacked from her job without being paid her outstanding wages, an MP has claimed.

Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey said the Government "will not stand by any bad employer", as she urged Labour's Helen Goodman to provide more details about the case.

Bishop Auckland MP Ms Goodman, speaking at Work and Pensions questions, said: "What's the minister going to do about employers like the one in my constituency, who sacked a lot of young people without paying the wages they were owed, so that one of them, a pregnant woman, ate nothing but Smash for three weeks?"

Ms McVey replied: "I think the best thing she could do is give us the name of that employer to see what he has done and what is he doing, because this Government will not stand by any bad employer.

"We want to help workers and make employers do the right thing."