ENGLAND’S forthcoming cricket match against Afghanistan should not be cancelled amid calls for a boycott over the Taliban’s treatment of women, the Culture Secretary has said.

A cross-party group of more than 160 MPs and peers have signed a letter urging the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to sit out next month’s fixture at the Champions Trophy in Lahore as a moral objection to the Taliban regime’s ongoing assault on women’s rights in the country.

Cabinet Minister Lisa Nandy said the match should go ahead so as not to penalise the England team’s players, but suggested British dignitaries should snub the event.