ENGLAND should pull out of the World Cup in light of the Salisbury chemical attack in order to “spoil” Vladimir Putin using the sporting event as a propaganda tool, a senior Tory backbencher has insisted.

In making his call for the boycott, Bernard Jenkin, who chairs the Commons Constitutional Committee, told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Nasty regimes like to host these big sporting events as a great sort of propaganda coup.

"It legitimises their regime and sport...reaches way beyond politics, way beyond international policy as a tool of propaganda. We must spoil this tool for Putin on this occasion," declared the Essex MP.

Pointing out how there were sporting protests against the apartheid regime in South Africa, Mr Jenkin added: “Putin practices a kind of apartheid in his own country…It’s an odious and poisonous regime. I’ve been to Moscow with the Defence Committee, it’s a sinister atmosphere in a place where there is no free speech, there is no proper democracy, there are no proper free trade unions, there is no free press.”

Earlier, Theresa May side-stepped the issue of the World Cup.

During Commons exchanges, Labour’s Stephen Kinnock asked if she shared the concern that “holding the World Cup in Russia this summer could be perceived as a global vindication of Mr Putin's regime, and, if so, would she be making representations to Fifa to explore the possibility of postponing the World Cup until 2019 and holding it in a more appropriate host country or countries?"

The Prime Minister replied: “The holding of sporting events and the choice of venues for those sporting events is a matter for the sporting authorities.

"As regards to sporting authorities here in the United Kingdom, they will have heard what I have said today about the actions of the Russian state."

Mrs May’s remarks came after she pointed out, as part of the response to Russia’s culpability in the Salisbury incident, that no UK ministers or members of the Royal Family would visit the football tournament this summer.

Luciana Berger, the Labour MP for Liverpool Wavertree, also asked if this boycott by officials could be extended to include senior FA officials. “And will she ask our Nato and EU allies to join us in this endeavour?"

The PM replied: "The attendance at sporting events is a matter for the sporting authorities; it's a matter for them.”

On the issue of whether or not the England team should boycott the tournament, her spokesman later insisted this was a matter for the Football Association.

The FA took to social media to say it would “continue to work closely with the UK Government and relevant authorities regarding our participation in this summer’s FIFA World Cup and the Women’s World Cup qualifier in June”.

It added: “Our priority for all England matches is to ensure the safety and security of the fans, players and staff. As is standard practice, we will take all travel guidance from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.”

Meanwhile, Lord Coe, President of the International Association of Athletics Federations, stressed sport's importance on world affairs.

Speaking in Los Angeles, the Tory peer said: "I have always believed sport is an extremely useful vehicle for maintaining relationships. There's a permanency about them and you have to be quite careful when you don't always recognise maybe the impact that sport has can be quite a conciliatory one.

"So I'm really clear, I'm not remotely observing the political landscape, that's not my responsibility remotely, but where possible it's always better to try and maintain good, strong sporting relationships," he added.

England is the only home nation to have qualified for this summer’s tournament. It will face Belgium, Panama and Tunisia in the group stages of the competition, which begins on June 14 in Moscow as Russia will take on Saudi Arabia.