#Villagate – for how long has David Cameron been a football fan?

David Cameron has taken some online stick today after forgetting which team he supported while talking about Britain’s “multiple identities”.

The prime minister seemed to switch loyalties from Aston Villa to West Ham, later admitting to “brain fade” – but how dedicated a footie fan has Mr Cameron really been?

When he was first elected to the House of Commons in 2001, Mr Cameron said he did not follow football.

He told the House in a debate on hooliganism that year: “Many of those who have spoken in the debate or have written about the subject are either lawyers or football fans, but I have to confess that I am neither.”

Mr Cameron’s preference for Aston Villa first emerged in the national press in 2005, after he was elected Conservative leader.

And he was reported in 2006 to have written on his blog that he “half-heartedly” supported Aston Villa and could name only three of their players.

Mr Cameron’s uncle Sir William Dugdale, who died last year, was the club’s chairman from 1975 to 1982.