Emily Thornberry, who controversially mocked the England flag just after the last World Cup, has tried to make amends by proposing a bank holiday if England reach the final this time.

Labour's shadow foreign secretary was sacked from a frontbench role by Ed Miliband for a 2014 tweet which appeared to sneer at St George's flags draped on the home of a white van man.

Now she says the day after the World Cup final should be a Bank Holiday if England play in it, although she admits she is not a football fan and mistakenly thinks the tournament is held every five years.

Mr Thornberry's attempts to win over football fans - and white van men - came in a speech to political journalists at Westminster at which her hosts had placed England flags in front of her and behind her.

In a further move to woo support from football fans during the World Cup, she also attacked the Royal Mail for banning postmen from flying England flags on their vans, urging bosses to reconsider.


Image: Ms Thornberry said she was not a football fan

And, during her speech and Q&A, Ms Thornberry also accused Theresa May of making dishonest statements in a TV interview - and then was honest enough to admit that she had smoked cannabis "a long time ago".

It was during a by-election in Rochester and Strood in 2014, after Tory MP Mark Reckless defected to UKIP, that Ms Thornberry tweeted a photo of a house with three England flags and a white van parked outside.

Fearing a backlash from working class voters, an embarrassed Mr Miliband immediately fired the barrister MP from her post as shadow attorney general and insisted Labour had respect for "white van man".

Now, apparently full of remorse, Ms Thornberry told her Westminster audience: "This is one of the things about the World Cup, that we do get lots of flags out and I think there is nothing wrong with that.

"Actually in Islington we have the additional thing of not only lots of England flags but lots of other flags as well, because we have a community that has flags of all different sorts."

Image: Ms Thornberry attacked Royal Mail for banning England flags on their vans

Then she said: "I can't pretend that I have the greatest interest in football, and I suspect that there's quite a lot of people like that.

"But I tell you how you could get more interest in football.

"What about if the government were to suggest, for example, that if one of the nations of the United Kingdom were to get into the finals … the next day will be a bank holiday?

"Why don't we do that every five years (sic) and that would help to get everybody behind whichever team it was?"

Labour is already proposing four new UK bank holidays, on St David's Day (1 March), St Patrick's Day (17 March), St George's Day (23 April) and St Andrew's Day (30 November). So Ms Thornberry is proposing a fifth new public holiday.

Image: Ms Thornberry admitted smoking cannabis 'a long time ago'

Attacking dishonesty in politics, she criticised those Labour MPs, such as pro-Remain campaigner Chuka Umunna, who have rebelled against Jeremy Corbyn on Brexit, accusing them of wanting to overturn the EU referendum result.

"I'm not saying that everyone who was arguing in favour of the EEA [European Economic Area] were people who actually just want to stay in the European Union, because I think some people genuinely feel that the government are doing such a bad job in the negotiations that they need to have a safe port," she said.

"But I think there were other people who were voting for it because it was a cover because actually what they want is to remain and there was a little bit of wrecking.

"I want to remain in the European Union, but I'm going to do as I'm told and I'm going to do everything that I can to make sure we get as good a deal as possible.

"But there are others who want to remain in the European Union and who are sometimes allowing themselves to indulge in things that are not realistic and who know that they're not and that's what's dishonest."

And accusing Mrs May of dishonesty, Ms Thornberry said: "Just look at the prime minister who, in the space of one interview last Sunday, claimed that she would fund a £20bn boost on NHS spending primarily through the 'Brexit dividend'.

"She claimed that the Brexit transitional period would definitely finish at the end of 2020. She claimed that she had not misled Dominic Grieve and Anna Soubry on the 'meaningful vote' amendment.

"And after all that she had the sheer chutzpah to say - and I quote - that she is a woman of her word."

And so, when she was asked if she had smoked cannabis, she said: "Yes I have but it was a long time ago and I think the nature of cannabis has changed quite a lot.

"It was something that I thought should be legalised but, as an MP, it's a good example of how you can be educated by your constituents."