England World Cup win could mean extra bank holiday, Prime Minister hints

Sir Keir Starmer has hinted that an England World Cup victory could result in an additional bank holiday ahead of a quarter-final showdown with Norway this weekend. The Prime Minister praised Monday's triumph over Mexico as one of the best England performances I've ever seen, with a win against Norway bringing them closer to their first World Cup victory in 60 years.

When asked whether he would support a bank holiday should England lift the trophy, Starmer told reporters at Wednesday's Nato conference: "I don't want to jinx it but ask me again if we get to the final."

With the final scheduled for Sunday 19 July, it is believed the following Friday has been identified as the most probable date for a celebratory bank holiday. This would allow Thomas Tuchel's team time to return from New Jersey and give the Football Association time to arrange a victory parade through central London.

During his time at the Nato summit in Ankara, Starmer exchanged light-hearted banter with his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Stoere. He told reporters: "I'm a good friend of his. The Norway-UK relationship is as strong as it's ever been and he's a key individual in the coalitions that we've been building. But for 90 minutes on Saturday evening we'll have to go our different ways as we go into that match."

Starmer also revealed he had resisted pressure to overturn Jarell Quansah's red card against Mexico following intervention with FIFA to suspend US player Folarin Balogun's suspension ahead of their match against Belgium. He stated: "I can't tell you how many messages I've had to rescind the red card that we received in the early hours of Monday. I hasten to add I haven't attempted to do that."