Culture Secretary John Whittingdale arrives with black eye in Downing Street

Ouch

John Whittingdale arrives at No. 10 Downing Street for a cabinet meeting in London (EPA)

John Whittingdale looked as if he had gone a few rounds in a boxing ring instead of spending the weekend campaigning after arriving in Downing Street with a painful-looking black eye.

Mr Whittingdale still managed a smile for the cameras before heading into Number 10 for his weekly Cabinet meeting, just two days after suggesting the Prime Minister will have to consider making way for a successor within the next few years if voters choose to leave the European Union in the referendum next week.

The pro-Brexit Culture Secretary gained the nasty bruise from “walking into a lamppost”, aides assured the Daily Mail. Mr Whittingdale also told Sky he had “an argument with a lamp post".

On Tuesday, the Leave camp was bolstered by The Sun, one of the most read newspapers in the UK, declaring its support for Brexit on its front page on Tuesday and urging readers to vote to leave.

Mr Whittingdale’s black eye was spotted as Downing Street said he had called Russia's sports minister on Monday to emphasise the need for both countries to work together to ensure there was a “peaceful, safe” Uefa Euro 2016 tournament after a spate of violence.

“We want to be encouraging fans from both our countries to have a peaceful tournament that can enjoy the football and not be ruined by violence. That is something the Russian sports minister agreed with,” David Cameron’s spokeswoman said.

“They have been looking at how they deal with football hooliganism in their country, taking some measures. It is something where they do want to co-operate with us.”