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Blundering Tory Helen Grant scored an own goal by suggesting the passport crisis should make people think of holidaying at home – as she cheered on England in Brazil.

The Tourism and Sport minister declared “there’s a lot to be said for a ‘staycation’” in an interview released just hours before kick-off.

Ms Grant was asked whether the chaos gripping the Passport Office was an opportunity to sell British destinations.

The Maidstone MP insisted: “I’m sure you will get your passport. I’m in no doubt, I’m very confident that people will get their passports.”

But she added: “If they don’t want to go away, we have some fantastic places to visit and holiday not that far from here.

“I think there’s a lot to be said for the ‘staycation’.”

Ms Grant’s remarks risk infuriating the 500,000 people who are waiting for passports after cuts to the service.

As she watched Roy Hodgson’s side take on Uruguay in São Paulo last night the Department for Culture, Media and Sport desperately insisted she was not telling them to holiday here instead.

A spokesman said: “Helen Grant was crystal clear that she was confident that people would get their passports to be able to travel overseas.

“As tourism minister it is completely right that she champions the domestic tourism market but she was in no way linking the two issues.”

But shadow Immigration minister David Hanson demanded: “What does Helen Grant know that we don’t? Is this crisis going to last all summer?

“Holidays in Britain are fantastic but ministers shouldn’t be trying to divert attention from the chaos they created.

“People need their passports for business, family funeral visits, residency permits and other personal reasons as well as their holidays abroad.

“Helen Grant should be on to the Home Office to get this sorted now, rather than telling families they won’t be going abroad any time soon.”

Former Labour campaign chief Tom Watson said that the “unforgivable” chaos was so bad people might be better off just staying at home and supporting British tourism.

Writing on the Mirror’s website, the MP said: “It beats spending hours on the phone to a so-called helpline which doesn’t actually help.

“Whether you are staying home or away, I hope you have a great time. Now it’s time for the Government to step up and sort out this mess.”

Victims of the passport chaos last night reacted with fury to Ms grant’s “appalling” comments.

The Tory was branded a “cheeky sod” who was “not living in the real world”.

Retired nurse Eileen Shepherd, 68, missed out on a £1,750 cruise after she was told her passport was not ready the day before she was due to set sail.

The pensioner, from Darlington, County Durham, said: “How dare she tell us where to go on holiday? Cheeky sod. I think people will be gunning for her. That comment is not helpful and not what we expect from elected personnel.

“She is not living in the real world with people like us.

“It is appalling. I’ve worked all my life and saved all my life to be able to go on one big holiday a year and I was robbed of that chance.”

Ms Shepherd said her 12-day cruise around the coast of Britain was “in a sense a staycation”, but it still required all passengers to have a passport.

“Ministers have no business telling me where I can take a break”, she said. “Does she get quizzed about where she goes on holiday?”

Martin Cook, 43, from Ipswich, only received his passport the day before flying to Prague for a weekend away with his wife Annabel last month, despite submitting his application four weeks earlier.

The BT project manager said: “Her comments are laughable. It is ludicrous.

“It is not her place to tell people where to holiday. If somebody has made their plans and put their passport application in in good time they should be able to travel where they like. It is a basic liberty.”

The row comes after Ms Grant was left red-faced when she proved a humiliating flop in a surprise TV quiz on her brief last autumn.

The minister failed to answer a single question about football, rugby, tennis or the Paralympics correctly.

The Maidstone MP, who grew up in Carlisle, even claimed that her “favourite team” Manchester United were the FA Cup holders - not Wigan.

Her local ITV Meridian News sprang the questions on Ms Grant as she visited a hockey match to publicise tax breaks for sports clubs over the weekend.

The MP insisted then that her woeful performance should not disqualify her from the Government job.

Ms Grant said: “My sports pub quiz knowledge may not be encyclopaedic, but I understand the positive impact that participating in sport has on people’s lives.”