England flag will fly at the SCOTLAND Office after PM announces show of support for the team's World Cup bid

Theresa May announces that England flag will fly at No10 for World Cup matches
PM praised the performance of the national team in the tournament so far
England thrashed Panama 6-1 at weekend to secure progress to knockout stage

By James Tapsfield, Political Editor For Mailonline

Published: 13:28 BST, 27 June 2018 | Updated: 15:33 BST, 27 June 2018

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Theresa May today declared that England flags will be proudly displayed at Whitehall departments for the rest of the World Cup campaign - including the Scotland Office.

The Prime Minister announced the show of support as she praised the performance of the team in the tournament so far.

But she is facing a backlash from north of the border after Scottish Secretary David Mundell said the St George flag would also fly at his department.

One Scottish football fan tweeted indignantly: 'Were they flying the Saltire when Scotland were playing at the World Curling Championships?'

The Welsh Office also confirmed that it would be hoisting the St George flag at its London HQ.

England thrashed Panama 6-1 at the weekend to secure their progress to the knockout stages.

They are due to take on Belgium tomorrow night to decide who tops the group - at the same time as Mrs May will be attending a crunch EU summit in Brussels.

Theresa May (pictured at PMQs today) announced the show of support as she praised the performance of the team in the tournament so far

Mrs May declared that the St George flag (pictured) will fly above Downing Street for matches

Not everyone responded warmly to David Mundell's announcement that the St George flag will go on display at the Scotland Office

Speaking at PMQs this afternoon, Mrs May said she wanted to demonstrate the nation's backing by putting the St George flag on display.

She also revealed that the same will be done for the women's World Cup, which is taking place next year.

'No 10 will be flying the England flag on the day of each of England's matches from now on,' Mrs May told MPs.

'We will be encouraging other government departments to do the same.

'I'm going to go further than my predecessors. Next year we will do the same for the women's World Cup.'

Scotland Secretary David Mundell said he was 'happy' to fly the England flag from the Scotland Office - and expected other departments to reciprocate if Scotland reach the next World Cup finals in Qatar in 2022.

Asked on Twitter whether he would be following the PM's call for Whitehall departments to display the Cross of St George, Mr Mundell replied: 'Happy to do so as I am confident No 10 and other UK departments will be flying the saltire in 2022.'

But Mr Mundell was hit with a wave of abuse from other Twitter users, with some branding him a 'traitor'.

Optimism has been growing about the England team's chances of bringing the World Cup home for the first time since 1966.

The players have exceeded low expectations in their first two matches in Russia - squeaking past Tunisia 2-1 in the first game before trouncing Panama.

Meanwhile, other favourites for the title such as Germany, Argentina, France and Spain have struggled for form and only just scraped through the group stages.

England thrashed Panama 6-1 at the weekend (pictured) to secure their progress to the knockout stages

Mrs May made the pledge after Tory MP Nick Boles called for a show of patriotism across public buildings.

The former minister had launched a petition to campaign for the move.

He said: 'Across the country people are taking great pride in the disciplined performance of Gareth Southgate's young and diverse team.'

Strict protocols govern which flags can be flown from government buildings and when.

No10 is currently flying the Armed Forces Day flag to mark a week of celebrations in honour of Britain's military.

A Labour source said that Jeremy Corbyn has a Cross of St George in his office, but declined to say whether the leader would fly the flag outside the party HQ or his own home.

'Jeremy is a strong football supporter and he is supporting the England team and I'm sure he will find his own way of expressing that,' said the source.