Claim 3699c8d9Checked 21 Jul 2026
Not Enough EvidenceOn the truth scale
Inconclusive — not enough public evidence to rate.
“Sir Alan Haselhurst encouraged Kemi Badenoch to take up the chairmanship of the all-party parliamentary group on cricket.”
—Mrs Kemi BadenochConservativeCon / North West Essex·Engagements·03 Jun 2026Factual · historical current chronological
Reasoning & Evidence21 Jul 2026
The claim concerns a private interaction between Sir Alan Haselhurst and Kemi Badenoch — specifically, that Haselhurst encouraged Badenoch to take up the chairmanship of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Cricket, and she declined.
**What can be verified from public records:**
1. **Haselhurst's involvement with the Cricket APPG**: Public records confirm that Sir Alan Haselhurst was deeply involved with the Cricket APPG. He served as Chair from 30 July 2015 until 2 May 2017 (when he retired from the Commons), and subsequently became Honorary President (as Lord Haselhurst) from 13 February 2019 until 20 November 2024. He was also described as Secretary of the All Party Cricket Group in earlier references. His passion for cricket is well documented.
2. **Badenoch's non-involvement with the Cricket APPG**: Parliament's official APPG register shows that Kemi Badenoch has never held an officer role or membership in the Cricket APPG. Her former APPG officer positions were in Blockchain, Challenger Banks and Building Societies, Innovation Corridor, and Women in Parliament — none related to cricket. This is consistent with her statement that she declined the offer.
3. **Succession context**: Haselhurst stepped down as Chair of the Cricket APPG in 2017 when he retired from the Commons. The chairmanship subsequently passed to others (Julian Knight, then later Andrew Lewin). Badenoch became an MP in June 2017 — the same period Haselhurst was leaving the Commons — so there is a plausible timeline for such an approach.
**What cannot be verified:**
The specific claim that Haselhurst personally encouraged Badenoch to take up the chairmanship is a private interaction. There is no public record, document, or independent source confirming this conversation took place. The fact that Badenoch never joined the Cricket APPG is consistent with her account, but it does not independently confirm that the encouragement occurred. This is a personal anecdote about a private exchange that cannot be corroborated or contradicted by public evidence.
Sources: Parliament.uk APPG officer roles for Mrs Kemi Badenoch (https://members.parliament.uk/member/4597/appgofficerroles); Parallel Parliament Cricket APPG register (https://parallelparliament.co.uk/APPG/cricket); CPA HQ biography of Lord Haselhurst (https://www.cpahq.org/about-us/our-governance/alan-haselhurst/); Parliament.uk Administration Committee news on Haselhurst chairmanships (https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/2/administration-committee/news/175916/election-of-chair/)
From speech
I echo the Prime Minister’s words on Lance Corporal James Freeman and about the Royal Navy helicopter crash in Devon. I also send my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Henry Nowak. The circumstances around Henry’s wrongful arrest and tragic murder must be a wake-up call to the entire country and our institutions that every life matters, and it is the responsibility of everyone in this House to bring people together, not divide them. Mr Speaker, with your permission, I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Sir Alan Haselhurst—Lord Haselhurst—who died on Monday. Sir Alan served Parliament for over 50 years, eight of them in the Lords and 40 years as my predecessor as MP for Saffron Walden, while from 1970 to 1974 he was the Member of Parliament for Middleton and Prestwich. He was respected on all sides of this House, and was elected multiple times as your predecessor as Deputy Speaker, before he concluded in the other place. Apart from serving his constituents, Sir Alan’s greatest passion in Parliament and perhaps in life was cricket, as you said, Mr Speaker. He was chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on cricket, a role which he encouraged me to take up and which I graciously declined, telling him I knew absolutely nothing about cricket. However, I think colleagues should know that Sir Alan’s intense lobbying is the reason that Sky Sports can be found on the parliamentary TV network. There is so much to say, but just to let everyone know, he was a good and kind man and he will be very much missed. My thoughts are with his wife Angela, his children Mark, David and Emma, and his grandchildren. May I ask the Prime Minister by how much the welfare bill has risen since he came to office?
Sources opened