Ahead of England’s crunch World Cup game against Belgium tonight, you might expect that support for the Three Lions is reaching fever pitch in the cabinet. Not so, Mr S is sad to report. Theresa May is more of a cricket fan, while Boris has been busy talking down England’s chances. It seems that culture secretary, Matt Hancock, is also failing to get excited about the football. At a party organised by the department for culture, media and sport for England’s opening game against Tunisia, Hancock seemed more interested in fiddling with a virtual reality set than paying attention to the game, Steerpike hears.
“He’s more of a cricket man” a source close to Hancock said, when asked about his ambivalence towards the beautiful game.
However, Mr S hears that Hancock isn’t quite as nonchalant when it comes to actually competing when it comes to football. Onlookers recently witnessed the culture secretary holding back youngsters on the opposition team when playing at a village fete, such was his desperation to get a goal.
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