Streeting's comments came after The King's Fund and The Health Foundation accused the secretary of state of rowing back on public health commitments due to pressure form the food and drinks industry.

He said: ‘We know we've got some great allies in our food and drinks industry, including some of the biggest supermarkets, brands and suppliers who really do care about our nation's health. But we also know in those industries, particularly in tobacco, there are powerful vested interests who too often have got away with calling the shots.

‘I will continue taking on these vested interests, where they work against the health of our people and the interests of our nation. And I will need your support to do it.'

During his speech at The King's Fund, the secretary of state also announced the roll-out of NHS league tables and 43 neighbourhood health pioneers.

Addressing comments by The King's Fund that league tables were ‘not meaningful and over simplistic', Streeting responded: I'm sorry, but that just doesn't wash for me. Your researchers trawl through the data, they know exactly which hospitals are doing well and which are falling behind the pack. So why shouldn't the public? 

‘The public pays for the NHS, they own it, they deserve to know how it's performing. And I believe fundamentally in giving all patients information, choice, and voice.'

Streeting said the neighbourhood health pioneers were an ‘entirely new way of operating for the NHS', admitting ‘we will make some mistakes along the way'.

‘In the spirit of honesty, let's be clear that this is a big departure from what's gone before, and not every area will succeed immediately,' he said.

‘This is people from different organisations, behaving as one team, and those organisations behaving as one system.'