Euro 2020: Boris Johnson under increasing pressure to grant a bank holiday if England beat Italy at Wembley

The Prime Minister is under mounting pressure to give workers a bank holiday if England beat Italy this Sunday and win Euro 2020.

Hundreds of thousands of people have signed a petition asking for Boris Johnson to grant a one-off day off in the event of the Three Lions winning the championship.

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At a glance: 5 key points

- The petition, set up by Lee Jones on the Parliament website, reads: “Sunday 8pm is a difficult time for families to plan to be together for the event – knowing we have an additional day off the next day would significantly help this.”

- Over 300,000 people have signed the petition on Friday morning.

- Mr Johnson has wished the national men’s team the “very best” ahead of the final, but said granting a bank holiday would be “tempting fate”.

- However, he has not ruled out the idea of a potential bank holiday and Downing Street sources told The Guardian that while Monday was too soon for a day-off - other options were being considered.

- Downing Street also said employers who are able to should be flexible about allowing staff to go in to work late on Monday or take the day off if England win.

What’s been said

“Furthermore, a historic win should be celebrated. It would be expected for the winning team to parade the trophy, and a bank holiday would be a perfect time to do this.

“Also, English people would naturally want to continue to enjoy the win, giving the retail and leisure industry a much-needed opportunity to make up lost revenues.”

Lee Jones, Parliament petition

“I don’t want to pre-empt the outcome of Sunday’s match. Clearly we want England to go all the way and win the final, and then we will set out our plans in due course.”

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman

Background

England’s victory over Denmark at Wembley on Wednesday meant that the men’s team secured a place in their first major final for 55 years.

Downing Street has said it will set out any celebrations such as a victory parade for the England team “in due course” - if they win on Sunday.

The match will be over by 10pm if it is settled in normal time.

However, the prospect of extra time and a penalty shoot-out mean the game could finish closer to 11pm.

Mr Johnson has already said pubs can stay open until 11.15pm this Sunday to reduce the risk of customers being told to leave before the match ends.

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