EFL chairman Rick Parry has been urged by Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden to "stop being distracted over this latest wheeze" concerning the revolutionary Project Big Picture plans and focus on talks with the Premier League to secure a rescue package for his competition.

Dowden took a dim view of the proposals which first became public knowledge over the weekend, describing them as 'Project Power Grab' and reiterated that a fan-led review of the game's governance would have to be brought forward "imminently" if the leagues could not settle their differences.

The PBP plans include a £250million immediate payment to the EFL at a time when its clubs are starved of matchday income by the coronavirus pandemic and the promise of a 25 per cent share of future Premier League media revenues for the EFL.

Clive Efford MP asked Dowden why he had so vehemently rejected the PBP proposals and said he did not feel they fundamentally changed the way the game would be governed.

Dowden replied: "It's a pretty profound change to the nature of football, I am going to have to disagree with you on that."

Dowden did agree with Julie Elliott MP's assertion that the rescue package should be separated from discussions on the balance of power between the football pyramid and within the Premier League.