Matt Hancock Confuses Marcus Rashford With Daniel Radcliffe

Health secretary says he may have had "Harry Potter on the mind" during the early morning interview
LOADINGERROR LOADING

Coronavirus has changed everything. Make sense of it all with the Waugh Zone, our evening politics briefing. Sign up now.

Matt Hancock has praised “Daniel Rashford” for his campaign to help feed disadvantaged children.

Unfortunately the 22-year-old footballer, who forced a U-turn from the government on free school meals, is called “Marcus” not “Daniel”.

Yesterday Boris Johnson reversed his decision not to extend meal vouchers into the summer holidays following a campaign by England star.

Speaking to Sky News this morning, Hancock said: “Righty-ho – I will tell you what happened. The prime minister talked to Daniel Rashford, he considered it, and made his decision – I think it’s terrific.”

I’ve been called much worse over the last couple of days 🤣

— Marcus Rashford (@MarcusRashford) June 17, 2020

Hancock said he may have had “Harry Potter on the mind” as it was “too early in the morning”.

“My seven-year-old listens to Harry Potter and reads Harry Potter avidly, including at 5.30 this morning when I got up to do this morning’s media round,” he told LBC after the slip-up.

Downing Street on Tuesday announced a one-off £120m fund which will benefit some 1.3m children in England over the six-week summer period.

Rashford told BBC Breakfast on Wednesday morning he was “shocked” by the decision.

“It’s a big decision for someone to make and I’m just grateful that the prime minister did change his decision and he understood,” he said.

“I spoke to him and thanked him for that. It’s a nice feeling but I’m just happy that people’s lives, and people’s summers especially, have been changed for the better.”

But the player said that people are “struggling all year round” and he now wants to learn “how we can help them best” in the future.

Johnson told yesterday’s Downing Street press conference he had to “understand the pressures families are under right now”.

“I think it is the right thing to do and it will help the kids from the families who really need it,” he said.

The PM also briefly forgot the name of the steroid dexamethasone, whose discovery as a Covid-19 treatment he was there to announce.

Close

What's Hot