 written's education secretary is no stranger to humiliating gaffes but today we witnessed one that perhaps tops all others and that's because this wasn't just a gaff it was a racist gaff the cock up concerned the footballer Marcus Rashford in an interview with the evening standard Williamson was asked if he'd ever met the england striker the standard right many of Williamson's critics have been high profile including Marcus Rashford who called for an urgent review of free school meals has he met the footballer 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 now on the face of it that's quite a good answer it makes Gavin Williamson sound very human he engaged with Marcus Rashford even though Marcus Rashford has been very critical of Gavin Williamson in the past the problem he didn't actually have a meeting with Marcus Rashford later Williamson's team tell me he actually met the rugby player maro atoye who campaigned to bridge the digital divide not Rashford wow Marcus Rashford is one of the most recognizable faces in this country and if you're education secretary he should be especially recognizable because he's constantly speaking on issues which pertain to your job yet Gavin Williamson spent a whole zoom call talking to another black sports person thinking he was Marcus Rashford however similar they look this would be messed up but they don't even look similar to show you how wild this is i'm sure you recognize Marcus Rashford but here he is on the right is maro atoye he is um the saracens and england rugby player dahlia do these two men look alike to you categorically obviously no but i'm also i feel like i can't really come down too hard because my own father regularly mistakes aphor hush for me on the tv so maybe it's not my place but not after not after an hour this was they'd had a conversation on zoom right so this is like my dad also like your dad was like i spoke to aphor hush this morning you like no that was me dad i mean obviously i'm being facetious this is actually embarrassingly common um in media and political circles and and it makes me think of ashen fiser um being regularly mistaken for one other it makes me think of one time when i was actually in a green room uh and someone that everyone here will know who will go unnamed decided to tell me that she thought i looked like cardy b which part of me is flattered but also part of me is also like wow this tells us a lot about the perspective of people who make these decisions and it's not like this isn't like the sharpest end of racism we can kind of make a joke out of it but it does basically show the double buying that people of color in this country are which is that you are very hyper visible you know and you know you are sort of you feel like you are sort of under scrutiny you're under surveillance that you have to watch what you do all the time and yet you are somehow at the same time totally invisible your achievements your individuality who you are is like constantly overlooked it's constantly invisible it's constantly sort of just it feels like it's just going over the the head of the people who empower and this isn't just like the point it's not just like a mistake and that's not the point the point is is that this is happening amongst the this is the the attitude and the kind of the lack of recognition is from people who are making or at the highest level of decision making in media and politics that has like a knock on effect and the fact that it feels like the people who are making those those decisions that have knock on effects on our culture on our politics see us but don't really see us is something that is quite viscerally felt and I would say that you know that is actually something that is quite consistently felt obviously most significantly in Tory media and Tory politics but actually pretty much across the spectrum and any person of color in Britain will tell you basically that something like this has happened to them. I mean as you say you know mistaking people of color is is something which is incredibly racially charged which happens all too often this story just has another element though which is like he was in a meeting with this guy right and also Marcus Rashford should be someone who is really really known to the education secretary like I would assume that Gavin Williamson is really worried about Marcus Rashford because he's constantly coming out with these interventions that make Gavin Williamson look terrible and Gavin Williamson is like oh is that Marcus Rashford guy that guy who I had that zoom call with who was very nice to me right that it just it just seems like what the hell is this guy thinking what is he doing like how how unintelligent is he to be honest like to be frank like wow like it you know it's rude if you mistake two people who you've passed in the pub or you know if I'm going to put myself in in the Tory party shoes who I've sort of met at the spectator dinner party but who I've had like an important meeting with about resources for kids and who is also you know one of the most prominent celebrities and campaigners on that issue to think you've had a meeting with a different person just it's it's wild to me we can look at the responses from the players himself Marcus Rashford responded by saying accent could have been a giveaway Marcus Rashford is from Manchester Itoje is from London there was also a response from Itoje 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 Eva it's just a simple Maro Itoje will do much love Marco I mean Maro Itoje do you think there'll be political consequences for this I mean Gavin Williamson it's it's widely speculated that there is going to be a reshuffle soon and he is tipped more than anyone to lose his job but this is as I say this isn't just this isn't just any old mix up with racist undertones this is like it's it's hard to believe that this has happened yeah it's it's you're not doing your job right you're not and whether that's you know being somewhat alert in meetings or being not racist or you know being aware of the cultural moment that is happening around your your role which is Marcus Rashford is our prime minister remember like he is the one who is especially when it comes to education when it comes to you know young people is like one of the most vocal not only critics of the government but the one of most respected voices and the fact that as the education minister you are so tuned out of it that you could be talking to a completely different person for a whole hour get the identities confused it just goes to show the kind of totally cavalier and disrespectful way in which politicians like Gavin Williamson approach the responsibilities that they're given even if he is you know reshuffled out of his role of education as education minister his political power his economic power his social power is ultimately going to be untouched it's just going to be kind of metabolized into a different form whether that's you know continuing to be a Tory MP and you know which is a really like powerful role or whether it's you know going through the revolving door between highly lucrative highly powerful positions in business and industry that exists between you know that sector and our political sector so he might be at risk but I think the cavalier and their sort of the like lack of interest comes from essentially just knowing that he will be fine always which is not what we can say for the all those young people that are you know under his jurisdiction