Priti Patel has said she does not support England's footballers taking the knee in protest against racial injustice, labelling the act "gesture politics".

The Home Secretary did not condemn football fans who had booed players for taking the knee, calling it a "choice for them" after Gareth Southgate's side faced jeers from a minority of fans at their first match of Euro 2020.

It comes after a Number 10 spokesman said that the Prime Minister wants the public to "cheer them on, not boo" at the tournament and explicitly supported those who decide to take part in the protest.

However, Ms Patel took a different stance to Boris Johnson, telling GB News: "I just don't support people participating in that type of gesture, gesture politics, to a certain extent, as well."

She claimed the Black Lives Matter protests last summer had a "devastating" impact on policing.

"It's all well to support a cause and make your voices heard," she told broadcaster GB News.

"But actually, quite frankly, and we saw last year in particular with some of the protests that took place, I speak now very much from what I saw in the impact on policing.

"It was devastating.

Asked whether England fans were right to boo the national team, she said: "That's a choice for them, quite frankly."

Pressed on whether she would boo the team for taking the knee, the Home Secretary added: "I've not gone to a football match to even contemplate that."

A minority of England fans once again defied calls not to jeer the players as they took the knee before kick-off in the Euro 2020 clash with Croatia on Sunday.

Requests not to boo fell on some deaf ears, with an audible round of jeers from some of the expected 22,500 crowd at Wembley, although cheers from the vast majority soon drowned them out.