Rishi Sunak says he is ‘working the phones’ ahead of Euro 2028 host deadline

By David Lynch, PA Political Staff

Rishi Sunak said he has been “working the phones” in an effort to make a success of the UK’s bid for the 2028 European Football Championship.

The British prime minister was also licked in the face by a guide dog as he met stallholders at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester.

Following a morning of questions about the future of HS2, Mr Sunak was quizzed about the UK’s joint bid with Ireland for Uefa’s Euro 28.

“I have been hitting the phones,” he told FA stallholders he met on the conference floor walkabout.

A final decision will be made on October 10th, with Turkey also in the running to stage the Europe-wide tournament.

The British prime minister was also shown tickets from the 1966 football World Cup and a 1968 programme for a match between West Ham and his club, Southampton.

He later witnessed a display of virtual reality football training technology by software company Rezzil.

Elsewhere on the conference floor, Mr Sunak shared anecdotes about his family’s puppy Nova as he met representatives from charity Guide Dogs.

As he kneeled down to meet guide dogs Inca and Stevie, Mr Sunak blew a kiss to Stevie as the black Labrador licked his face.

Mr Sunak said his family had been inspired by friends with a dog named Inca to get their Labrador retriever last year.

Guide Dogs representatives Eleanor Briggs, Elaine Maries and Pete Bungay pressed the Prime Minister about the charity’s campaign to do more to tackle obstructive pavement parking.

Mr Sunak said he would “go and do a bit of reading” about a consultation launched by the Government in 2020 aimed at changing the law on pavement parking.

During the visit, the British prime minister also met small independent businesses, and stopped to speak to some children and teenagers ahead of an early morning conference event.