Gavin Williamson says he cannot remember the A-Level results he got at his Yorkshire school

As hundreds of thousands of students received their A-level grades, Mr Williamson vividly recalled the day 27 years ago when he received his results.

But pressed on what they actually were, he insisted that his memory failed him, although he acknowledged he did not get top marks.

“I didn’t get three A*s, it’s fair to say,” he said when pressed by LBC’s Nick Ferrari. “I have forgotten, it is so long ago. It is 27 years ago. You probably can’t remember what was happening last weekend.”

Earlier, however, Mr Williamson recounted how he went to Scarborough Sixth Form College in to pick up the envelope with his grades.

He recalled his “absolute delight” when he saw the results and realised ”all my dreams of doing social science at Bradford University” had been achieved.

“For a lad growing up in Scarborough, Bradford was the most exotic and exciting place in the whole world,” he said.

“It opened up the pathway to those next steps and I was absolutely delighted.”