A Government minister called on to defend Gavin Williamson after he mixed up two Black athletes could not decide whether he is ‘racist’ or ‘incompetent’.
The Education Secretary came under fire yesterday for confusing Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford with England rugby player Maro Itoje in an interview with the Evening Standard.
Mr Williamson had claimed he had met with the football player over Zoom, however, an aide was later forced to clarify he had in fact spoken to Mr Itoje instead.
In an uncomfortable interview with LBC host Nick Ferrari, health minister Helen Whately was questioned about the blunder, which prompted many to accuse the Education Secretary of racism.
Mr Ferrari asked the Conservative MP: ‘Is he racist or incompetent?’
But Ms Whately was not able to give a definitive answer, and after trying to dodge the questions on several occasions, she said: ‘Honestly, I don’t know. All I know is that Gavin has put out his explanation, and there’s really nothing more that I could say about it.
‘I cannot believe for a moment that he is. I think that is highly unlikely.’
When the presenter again pushed for an answer, the MP said: ‘It is not necessarily one or the other. You have given me a false choice – you are trying to put me in a trap.’
Retweeting the story, Mr Rashford highlighted that the ‘accent could have been a giveaway’ and added a laughing emoji.
Mr Itoje also took to social media to clarify that he is, indeed, not Mr Rashford.
Mr Williamson said in a statement: ‘We corrected this with the journalist before the publication of the story.
‘I have huge respect for both Marcus Rashford and Maro Itoje who run effective and inspiring campaigns.’
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