Rishi: My regret at Gavin’s comeback
Now bully row minister could lose knighthood
RISHI Sunak yesterday conceded he ‘regrets’ bringing Gavin Williamson back into the Cabinet as the minister reportedly faces losing his knighthood over bullying allegations.
In a heated Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Sunak said the complaints about his ally’s behaviour were ‘unacceptable’ and it was right for him to have quit.
The Prime Minister insisted he was unaware of ‘any of the specific concerns’ relating to Sir Gavin’s tenure as defence secretary and chief whip when he appointed him as a minister without portfolio.
But Mr Sunak faced questions about his political judgment – with Labour asking why he brought such a contentious figure back into the fold when he was aware of a complaint. Sir Gavin quit the
‘Absolutely right that he has resigned’
Cabinet on Tuesday night amid mounting pressure to avoid being a ‘ distraction’. Last night, it was reported that the former minister could lose his knighthood, handed to him by Boris Johnson, after the bullying claims were referred to the Forfeiture Committee.
Sir Gavin said he ‘refuted’ allegations about his conduct – among them that he had told an official to ‘slit your throat’ – but would ‘step back from government’ to clear his name of ‘any wrongdoing’.
His sudden resignation came after his former deputy chief whip turned on him last night, accusing him of behaving in a ‘threatening’ and ‘intimidating’ way as chief whip.
Former Tory minister Anne Milton said he would use ‘salacious gossip’, including details about MPs’ sexual preferences, as leverage against them. She branded his actions ‘unethical and immoral’, and also claimed he tried to use one MP’s financial situation to control them.
Sir Gavin is also facing a probe by Parliament’s independent complaints and grievance scheme over the allegations that he told a senior official at the Ministry of Defence to ‘slit your throat’ and ‘ jump out of the window’ in what they felt was a campaign of bullying.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer asked Mr Sunak how the allegedly bullied official felt at hearing him welcome Sir Gavin’s resignation ‘with great sadness’. Mr Sunak replied: ‘Unequivocally, the behaviour complained of was unacceptable and it’s absolutely right that the right honourable gentleman has resigned.
‘For the record, I did not know about any of the specific concerns relating to his conduct as secretary of state or chief whip that date back some years.
‘I believe that people in public life should treat others with consideration and respect and those are the principles that this Government will stand by.’
The Prime Minister added: ‘I obviously regret appointing someone who has had to resign in the circumstances.
‘But I think what the British people would like to know is that when situations like this arise, that they will be dealt with properly. And that’s why it is absolutely right that he resigned and it’s why it is absolutely right that there is an investigation to look into these matters properly.’
Sir Keir said Sir Gavin’s reputation as a ‘pathetic bully’ was ‘precisely why the Prime Minister gave him a job’, adding: ‘What message does he think it sends when, rather than take on the bullies, he lines up alongside and thanks them for their loyalty?’
Downing Street said Sir Gavin, who has previously been sacked as defence secretary and education secretary, offered his resignation to the PM in a meeting on Tuesday night.
Sir Gavin said the allegations against him were ‘ becoming a distraction for the good work this Government is doing for the British people’ and was stepping back to ‘clear my name’.