Rishi Sunak says ‘don’t gobblefunk with language’ as he slams ‘airbrushing’ of Roald Dahl

PM opposes edits to children’s classics to remove material deemed offensive

Film version of Dahl classic ‘The BFG’ (Netflix)

Rishi Sunak has criticised the decision to rewrite Roald Dahl children’s books for a modern audience – urging the publisher not to “gobblefunk” with the language.

The Roald Dahl Story Company and Puffin Books confirmed they had rewritten material deemed offensive – such as references to weight, mental health, violence, gender and race.

But the prime minister joined leading authors Salman Rushdie and Philip Pullman in warning against the move – quoting Dahl’s The BFG as he described it as “airbrushing” the past.