Marcus Rashford has laughed off an awkward blunder by the Education Secretary - who mistakenly said the pair had met during an interview.

Gavin Williamson described the Manchester United player as 'engaged, compassionate and charming' when he spoke to the Evening Standard.

But his team later confirmed to reporter Susannah Butter that Mr Williamson meant rugby player Maro Itoje.

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Mr Williamson said: "We met over Zoom and he seemed incredibly engaged, compassionate and charming but then he had to shoot off. I didn’t want to be the one that was holding him back from his training."

Reporter Susannah said: "Later Williamson’s team tell me he actually met the rugby player Maro Itoje, who campaigned to bridge the digital divide, not Rashford.

"Rashford’s spokesperson confirms that he has never had any direct communication with Williamson, although the minister did have a call with Itjoe about equal access to education during the pandemic."

Rashford has previously called out the government in his bid to end child hunger and secure free school meals for children during the pandemic and school holidays.

Retweeting the unfortunate mistake, he put a laughing emoji and said: "Accent could have been a giveaway."