Culture secretary Tessa Jowell has defended her department's backing for Cadbury's "wrappers for sports equipment" promotion.

Jowell said government backing for the scheme was "entirely defensible".

Her remarks, to be broadcast on GMTV's Sunday programme, come after Peter Hain described the campaign as "pretty indefensible".

Sports minister Richard Caborn had previously given his backing to the scheme.

Asked for her response to Hain's comments, Jowell said she and the Commons leader held different views on the matter.

"I don't agree with him and there's a debate in government about this," said Jowell.

"Either we have an honest and open discussion on it or we shut the issue down and emerge with a conclusion at the end.

"We will give those views an honest airing and as I say at the end of the period we will reach a conclusion," she said.

She argued that Cadbury's had a long history of sponsoring sport, and praised their efforts to encourage children to participate in physical activity.

"I think it was an entirely defensible position in the context of what we are trying to do in trying to improve the facilities for children to play sport, getting children more active, because after all its not so much that children are getting fatter because they are eating significantly more, they're getting fatter because they're taking much less exercise."

She added that Cadbury's had now withdrawn from the project.

Jowell's defence of the involvement of sweet manufacturers in school sports follows widespread concern in the media and Westminster at the "obesity epidemic" amongst the young.

Transport minister Kim Howells has already warned against the "hysteria" around the issue.

However, he added that he was "not in favour" of marketing activities aimed at schoolchildren by confectionary merchants.

Jowell also warned in her interview that although some campaigns were positive and well-intentioned, the industry was "on probation".