Theresa May refuses to guarantee Andy Murray’s British nationality if he doesn’t win Wimbledon

Theresa May has defended her refusal to guarantee Andy Murray’s British nationality in the event that he doesn’t win Wimbledon, saying that to do so would be perceived as weakness by the EU.

Murray was celebrated as a British hero following his victory at last year’s tournament. However, it’s feared that the world No. 1 will end up being described as Scottish if he doesn’t retain the title.

“Guaranteeing the basic, inalienable rights of any British national would leave our crack team of Brexit negotiators high and dry,” insisted the Prime Minister.

Sir Andy wouldn’t be the first person whose nationality was changed in light of a sporting disappointment. Following Frank Bruno’s defeat to Mike Tyson in 1996, the UK press insisted that the London-born fighter was actually Norwegian.

Although a proud Scot, it’s believed that Murray is keen to retain his British identity. This was evident last week when he pretended his tennis racket was a guitar and entertained the centre court crowd with a 15-minute Beatles medley that climaxed with a stirring rendition of God Save the Queen.

In response to May’s comments, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said that he would offer British citizenship to everyone competing at this year’s Wimbledon. He added that he would use the full £25 billion saved from cancelling Trident to build thousands of new Tennis courts.

However, an anonymous Tory insider – known only as SW – dismissed Corbyn’s offer as ‘a load of balls’ and accused him of being an ATP sympathiser.

Advertisement

NewsThumpNotebooks

Somewhere to write down everything that’s wrong with the world. You may need several.

See the full collection →