A heated exchange took place in the House of Commons after Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe challenged a Labour MP during a debate on food labelling and animal welfare, focusing on the way halal meat is identified for consumers.

Mr Lowe accused the government of failing to ensure clear and consistent labelling of meat products, arguing that shoppers, schools and catering providers should be able to easily identify whether meat has been produced using religious slaughter methods. He said the issue should be treated as a matter of transparency and consumer choice rather than religion.

“This is about honesty for the public and about animal welfare standards,” Mr Lowe told the chamber, calling for clearer rules that would allow people to make informed decisions about the food they buy.

During the exchange, the Labour MP rejected suggestions that there was any deliberate attempt to mislead consumers and said existing food standards regulations already require accurate information to be provided. He warned that the debate risked stigmatising religious communities and urged MPs to handle the subject with care.

The discussion centred on the long-running national debate over whether meat from animals slaughtered without pre-stunning should be labelled differently. Current UK rules allow religious exemptions from pre-stunning for halal and kosher meat, provided slaughter takes place in licensed abattoirs under official supervision.

Animal welfare organisations have repeatedly called for mandatory, clearer labelling of meat produced under religious exemptions, arguing that consumers should be able to distinguish between different slaughter methods at the point of sale. Religious groups, meanwhile, have said that halal production in the UK is subject to strict hygiene and welfare oversight and should not be misrepresented.

The Speaker intervened during the exchange as tensions rose between MPs.