Sunak’s football gaffe met with silence at Welsh brewery

Rishi Sunak meets members of staff at the Vale of Glamorgan Brewery - Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

Rishi Sunak scored an own goal as he tried to engage ordinary people in a conversation about football.

In one of his first encounters with voters in the election campaign, the Prime Minister asked workers at a brewery in south Wales whether they were looking forward to “the football” this summer.

Unfortunately for Mr Sunak, Wales did not qualify for the European Championships. Of the home teams, only England and Scotland reached the finals.

His gaffe prompted an embarrassed silence at the Vale of Glamorgan Brewery in Barry.

The Prime Minister was trying to start a conversation about how the championship might improve revenue, asking: “So are you looking forward to all the football?”

After an awkward pause, one brewery employee answered: “We’re not so invested in it”, to which another responded: “That’s because you guys aren’t in it”.

Mr Sunak nonetheless ploughed on, insisting: “It’ll be a good summer of sport”.

The Prime Minister claims to be a supporter of Southampton FC, or “The Saints”.

In 2022, he said he was a “massive football fan” but embarrassed himself by wrongly speaking about his team playing Manchester United at the weekend, when they were facing Leicester City.

The teetotal Tory leader was shown brewing processes at the brewery with Wales Secretary David TC Davies and Vale of Glamorgan MP Alun Cairns.

He told staff they were “part of a proper industry that we’re keen to support”, mentioning a “Brexit pubs guarantee” and support with business rates.

The brewery visit was part of Mr Sunak’s whistle-stop campaigning tour of all four nations of the UK a day after he announced a general election for July 4.

Play The Telegraph’s brilliant range of Puzzles - and feel brighter every day. Train your brain and boost your mood with PlusWord, the Mini Crossword, the fearsome Killer Sudoku and even the classic Cryptic Crossword.