- Culture secretary and representative for West Suffolk, Matt Hancock, said he would be ‘delighted’ if Vladimir Putin had to hand over World Cup to England
- He told GMB today that English success would be the best response to Russia
- His comments sparked outrage among viewers who slammed him on Twitter
A Tory MP has sparked a Twitter backlash for suggesting Britain’s best response to Russia over the spy death scandal would be for England to win the World Cup.
Culture secretary and representative for West Suffolk, Matt Hancock, said he would be ‘delighted’ if Vladimir Putin had to hand over football’s biggest prize to the England players this summer.
Mr Hancock was on Good Morning Britain discussing the diplomatic fallout between Britain and Russia after the poisoning of spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury earlier this month.
Mr Hancock was on Good Morning Britain discussing the diplomatic fallout between Britain and Russia after the poisoning of spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury earlier this month
Culture secretary and representative for West Suffolk, Matt Hancock, said he would be ‘delighted’ if Vladimir Putin had to hand over football’s biggest prize to the England players this summer
He said: ‘The best response to all of this would be for England to go to the World Cup, in Russia, and win it.’
Asked if he’d be comfortable with Putin handing the World Cup to the England players, he said: ‘Would I be comfortable with England winning the World Cup? Yes, I would – I’d be absolutely delighted.’
His comments sparked outrage among viewers, who took to social media to vent their fury.
Lulu Baker tweeted: ‘Matt Hancock. What a complete & utter plonker. Blah blah blah waffle waffle waffle. If England win the World Cup who gives a shit about British-Russian diplomacy. FFS #GMB’
Brian Harris wrote: ‘”The best response [to Putin] would be for England to win the world cup.”
‘Seriously. What the fuck is that supposed to mean, Matt Hancock? Like we’re some kind of Jesse Owens of nations to embarrass the Russians.
‘Just how stupid are you?’
Annie said: ‘England to win the World Cup , you total b*****d Hancock.’
Marjorie Minge added: ‘Matt Hancock showing how out of touch he is with reality by claiming England could win the World Cup..#gmb’
England will travel to Russia this summer to take part in this year’s World Cup, despite a diplomatic and royal boycott of the event from Britain.