Education secretary Gavin Williamson has embarrassed himself by appearing to mix up Manchester United star Marcus Rashford with Maro Itoje, a rugby player.
Williamson is said to have spoken of enjoying a chat with Rashford over Zoom, only for his team to later clarify that they’ve never actually spoken, and that the Conservative MP was probably talking about his call with Saracens and England ace Itoje instead.
See below for details from Tom Newton Dunn, who tweeted about the unfortunate error that is certainly seeing Williamson get a lot of stick on social media, with Rashford and Itoje themselves tweeting about the blunder…
This is unfortunate…
'Has Gavin Williamson ever met Marcus Rashford? “We met over Zoom and he seemed incredibly engaged, compassionate and charming". Later Williamson’s team tell me he actually met the rugby player Maro Itoje, not Rashford.'https://t.co/Ya5NvtuLgn
— Tom Newton Dunn (@tnewtondunn) September 8, 2021
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Rashford joked that Williamson should have known from the accent that it wasn’t him, while Itoje also mocked the mistake by confirming he’s not Rashford…
Accent could have been a giveaway ? https://t.co/CO2oQjiZZ6
— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) September 8, 2021
Due to recent speculation I thought it was necessary to confirm that I am not Marcus Rashford… And whilst we are here my name is not Mario either!! Just a simple Maro Itoje will do…
Much love,
Marcu… I mean Maro Itoje
— Maro Itoje (@maroitoje) September 8, 2021
As quoted by the Guardian, Williamson later insisted he’d made a genuine mistake, having mixed up the issues Itoje was bringing up with some of the campaigning Rashford has done.
Labour MP David Lammy described the error as “appalling” in a blistering attack on Williamson, while Angela Rayner also launched a scathing attack on the education secretary…
This is appalling.@GavinWilliamson what was it about @maroitoje that made you mistake him for @MarcusRashford?
You must be the most ignorant, clueless and incapable Education Secretary in the UK's history. https://t.co/DaXpGPBzWq
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) September 8, 2021
According to @GavinWilliamson a black man from Wythenshawe who plays football for England looks the same as a black man from North London who plays rugby for England.
The fact that Gavin Williamson remains in his job is a daily reminder of how mediocre white men rise and rise. pic.twitter.com/Zp8LSRqAb4
— Angela Rayner (@AngelaRayner) September 8, 2021