Matt Hancock called Marcus Rashford ‘Daniel’ during a televised interview this morning (17 June).

The Health Secretary was being interviewed about the government’s decision to extend the free school meal voucher scheme, following a social media campaign led by the Manchester United footballer, demanding this should happen.

However, it appears as though Mr Hancock was less familiar with the England striker than you might think, and ended up forgetting the striker’s name.

Speaking to Sky News about why the government U-turned and decided to extend the scheme, pledging a further £120 million to do so, Mr Hancock said: “Righty ho, well I’ll tell you what happened, the Prime Minister talked to Daniel Rashford, he considered it and made his decision.

“I think it’s terrific, I think it’s important we get as much support as possible to people who are in difficult circumstances, especially with coronavirus.”

Taking it on the chin, Rashford later joked: “I’ve been called much worse over the last couple of days.”

Mr Hancock blamed the gaffe on the interview being ‘too early’, but once more praised the 22-year-old for his actions

Rashford replied: “As I said yesterday this was never about politics or me. The PM didn’t need to u-turn the decision but I’m thankful he did. I asked you to listen and you did that so on behalf of all mums likes mine, dads and carers that are struggling across the country, thank you.”

The pretty embarrassing slip-up didn’t go unnoticed by viewers, who took to social media to share the agonising moment.

Writing on Twitter, one person said: “Oh dear. Matt Hancock accidentally called Marcus Rashford ‘Daniel Rashford’.”

A second joked: “Good to see Matt Hancock giving Daniel Rashford the praise he deserves. A true Manchester Athletic fan,” as a third added: “Own goal – Matt Hancock just praised footballer ‘Daniel Rashford’. Does he play for Melchester Rovers?”

While another wrote: “It really is quite weird watching cabinet ministers line up to thank Marcus Rashford for forcing them to feed vulnerable hungry kids against their will. Well done Daniel, you really stopped us from being heartless child-starving f***ing b***ends there.”

This comes after the government chose to extend the voucher scheme following Marcus Rashford’s campaign to make sure the most vulnerable kids were being cared for during the coronavirus lockdown, particularly the school summer holidays.

The England international had vowed to continue pushing the government to provide free school meal vouchers to stop children from going hungry, and used his own experience as a youngster to fuel the campaign.

In an emotional open letter to 650 MPs, the 22-year-old wrote: “My story to get here is all-too-familiar for families in England: my mum worked full-time, earning minimum wage to make sure we always had a good evening meal on the table. But it was not enough. The system was not built for families like mine to succeed, regardless of how hard my mum worked.

“As a family, we relied on breakfast clubs, free school meals, and the kind actions of neighbours and coaches. Food banks and soup kitchens were not alien to us; I recall very clearly our visits to Northern Moor to collect our Christmas dinners every year.

“It’s only now that I really understand the enormous sacrifice my mum made in sending me away to live in digs aged 11, a decision no mother would ever make lightly.“