Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford (File Photo)

Health minister Matt Hancock apologised on Wednesday to England soccer player Marcus Rashford for getting his name wrong, suggesting that confusion with the star of the Harry Potter films was behind the slip-up.

Hancock referred to a “Daniel” Rashford in an interview earlier in the day as he paid tribute to the Manchester United footballer for his campaigning on food vouchers for struggling families which had prompted a change in government policy.

“Last night… I was reading my son Harry Potter, and it was clearly still stuck in my mind at 7 o’clock this morning when I started out on the TV,” Hancock said in parliament, an apparent reference to Daniel Radcliffe, who plays the eponymous hero in the film series.

“We all make errors sometimes. I apologise to Marcus for getting his name wrong on one occasion. I have no possible reason for having made that mistake.”