A FRUSTRATED Wirral Euro MP has written to FIFA president Sepp Blatter demanding to know why England lost their bid for the 2018 World Cup.

Paul Nuttall, deputy leader of the UK Independence party, is demanding to be told the factors taken into account when deciding which country was given the go-ahead to host the tournament.

He said: "I want to know exactly what made Russia's bid stronger than ours and also why, even more bizarrely, Qatar was chosen for the 2022 World Cup."

"I am completely dismayed and confused, particularly because we had been informed that England’s bid was structurally and commercially the best, yet we failed to muster more than two votes, one being our own.

"I was totally shocked at the choice of Qatar for the 2022 event. We are talking about a country with a population that is smaller than Greater Manchester.

"If the World Cup had have come to our shores in 2018, it would have provided a massive boost to the North West economy, with Liverpool and Manchester being host cities and other local towns acting as training bases for many of the world’s top footballing nations."

He added: "As member of the culture, media and sport committee in the European Parliament, I have written to the head of FIFA, Sepp Blatter, to ask him on what basis were these decisions taken and what exactly made both Russia’s and Qatar’s bids stronger than that of England.

"I will await his response with interest."