As rumours swirl that his job hangs in the balance, today the Evening Standard publishes an interview with Gavin Williamson covering a range of topics – though just one will make headlines elsewhere. Gavin reflected on a productive call he had with Marcus Rashford:

“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.”

Except he didn’t meet Marcus Rashford – Williamson’s team retrospectively clarified that he in fact spoke to rugby player Maro Itoje. Rashford’s own spokesperson also added that the footballer had “never had any direct communication with Williamson“. Williamson himself insists he just wants to get on with “the rigorous pursuit of high standards”…

UPDATE: Williamson tells Guido:

“Towards the end of a wide-ranging interview in which I talked about both the laptops and school meals campaigns, I conflated the issues and made a genuine mistake. We corrected this with the journalist before publication of the story.

“I have huge respect for both Marcus Rashford and Maro Itoje who run effective and inspiring campaigns.”