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UK foreign secretary James Cleverly will travel to Australia to watch England in the Women’s World Cup final this Sunday.
He will join Lucy Frazer, the cabinet minister responsible for sports policy, as the Lionesses take on Spain.
Rishi Sunak, however, will not be attending the match in Sydney.
Health minister Neil O’Brien said the prime minister would “love to be there”, but had unavoidable diary commitments.
He blamed the war in Ukraine and “some of the other things that are happening with the wider economy”.
“The prime minister has a lot of crucial things in his diary, and some of those things he can’t always move,” he told broadcasters.
Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that Spain’s Queen Letizia will fly to Australia to attend the final with her 16-year-old daughter Infanta Sofia – but no British royals will be present.
The Royal Spanish Football Federation said King Felipe would not be attending, as he would be busy carrying out other official duties.
Kensington Palace said Prince William, the president of the Football Association, would be cheering on the England team from the UK.
It is understood he made the decision to avoid making long-distance flights for a very short stay in Australia. He is believed to be concerned about the climate impact of making the journey.
Bank holiday calls
The Foreign Office confirmed Mr Cleverly’s attendance on Friday, following confirmation of Ms Frazer’s plans to travel on Wednesday.
The government has said it has no plans for a bank holiday to celebrate an England victory in the final, despite calls from Labour and the Liberal Democrats. There has never been one held to mark a sporting occasion.
Ministers have called on local councils to do their best to allow pubs to open early ahead of the game.
According to an industry body, most pubs are likely to be unable to serve alcohol until 11:00 BST, the time the match begins, with some being restricted until midday.
Pubs can apply to their council for a temporary event notice (TEN) to vary their hours – but that requires five working days to process.
There have been calls to relax licensing laws in England and Wales on Sunday – but signing off such a move would require the consent of Parliament, which is currently in its summer recess.
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