Lucy Powell left television viewers baffled over her defence of Ed Miliband’s infamous meeting with Russell Brand when he was Labour leader.
The pair met at Brand’s home as Miliband desperately sought his endorsement in the run-up to the 2015 general election.
Powell, who is now the education secretary, was a senior figure in Labour’s election campaign at the time.
She challenged on the her role in arranging the controversial meeting in a round of awkward broadcast interviews on Tuesday morning.
They came a day after Brand was jailed for 10-and-a-half years after being found guilty of one rape and three sexual assaults.
On Sky News, presenter Sophy Ridge asked if she regretted the fact that the interview had taken place.
She said: “It was a long time ago, obviously. And had I or Ed Miliband or anybody at the time had any sense at all that this was someone who was a sexual predator, who was involved in these sorts of crimes or any allegations that were known at the time, then, of course, that interview I’m sure would not have happened.
“History would have been very, very, different.”
Asked if she helped to set up the interview, Powell said: “He approached the Labour Party, he approached the campaign team, and we’re in very different times now.
“We weren’t in the social media age at the time – where you could maybe search things up and see allegations about somebody at the time.”
However, social media users were quick to point out that Twitter had already been up and running for many years in 2015 – and that Powell herself joined the platform in 2009.
Facebook had also been around since 2004, with Instagram appearing in 2010.
Miliband’s meeting with Brand also came seven years after the former comedian had been resigned the BBC over the Sachsgate scandal, while he had also faced several allegations of sexual misconduct prior to 2015.
Powell added: “If there was any suggestion at all we were dealing with someone who was a known sexual predator at the time, then, of course, you know, no one would have done that.
“But as I say, he was a well known public figure. Lots of people from Hollywood to the BBC to many others gave this person a very, very powerful platform. And we didn’t know at the time, unfortunately. It was a different era.”
Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.
