Tory MP Michael Tomlinson begs ‘ask me about sport’ – then forgets his football team

Michael Tomlinson admitted he hadn’t watched ITV’s Mr Bates vs the Post Office as he’s too busy for box sets and he prefers sport – but he was caught out by Sky News’ Kay Burley

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Tory keeps digging after not watching ITV Post Office drama

A Tory Minister claimed he didn’t watch ITV’s Post Office drama as he prefers sport – but then couldn’t name his favourite football team.

Bungling Michael Tomlinson admitted he hadn’t watched ‘Mr Bates vs the Post Office’, which shone a light on the biggest miscarriage of justice in British history when hundreds of subpostmasters were wrongly accused of swindling cash. The Government rushed to bring in a new law to exonerate and compensate Post Office staff after the drama triggered a wave of national outrage.

Asked if he’d watched it by Sky News’ Kay Burley, Mr Tomlinson said: “I haven’t, I’ve been focusing on my job, which as Illegal Migration Minister, is topping the boats.” In an excruciating exchange, Mr Tomlinson said: “I watch very little, is the honest and straightforward answer. If you ask my family they’ll say I’m a little bit focused on what I’m doing and probably don’t have a lot of time to watch boxsets.

Tory Minister Michael Tomlinson got into a bit of a mess during an interview with Kay Burley on Sky News

“But I do enjoy watching sport, and if you want to ask me about cricket or sport then please do,” he added. Asked which football team he supports, he then appeared to forget. “I don’t really have a football team,” he said.

Told he wasn’t really a sports fan, he protested: “I’m a cricket fan, I love sport and I enjoy watching sport — but it would be wrong to tell you that I have a football team. “I’ve been to Bournemouth, I’ve been to various other grounds but I don’t have a specific football team,” he said, then added: “Wimborne Town Football Club!”

But his love of Wimborne Town appeared to be a bit shallow. Asked by the presenter about their last result, he said: “I couldn’t tell you their last result. But the last result that I was there was very exciting, there were lots of goals – and it was a 1-1 draw.”

Mr Tomlinson isn’t the first politician to get into hot water over football. David Cameron famously said he backed West Ham after repeatedly claiming to be an Aston Villa supporter.