Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
A sad middle managerwith a pet spider
Starmer’s blast at ‘bully’ Williamson as PM admits ‘regret’ at Cabinet job
KEIR Starmer slammed Rishi Sunak for being “weak” in his handling of “pathetic bully” Gavin Williamson.
The Labour leader was in no mood to hold back as the Prime Minister faced a Commons battering for handing Sir Gavin a Cabinet seat despite the bullying complaint against him.
Mr Starmer branded Sir Gavin “a sad middle manager getting off on intimidating those beneath him” and alluded to him keeping a pet tarantula on his desk for precisely that purpose.
He added: “The truth is simple: he’s a pathetic bully. But he would never get away with it if people like the Prime Minister didn’t hand him power.
“If he can’t even stand up to a cartoon bully with a pet spider, if he’s too scared to face the public in an election, what chance has he got of running the country?”
Mr Sunak denied knowing about specific concerns over Sir Gavin’s conduct.
But days after saying he stood by all his decisions, and hours after gushingly thanking Sir Gavin for his service, the PM said it was right for him to quit.
Mr Sunak said: “I obviously regret appointing someone who’s had to resign in these circumstances.”
The PM was accused of “rank hypocrisy” as it emerged Sir Gavin had preached zero tolerance for bullies just two years ago. In a video filmed when he was Education Secretary, Sir Gavin vowed to “stamp out bullying” and said it was “never acceptable”.
MPS jeered as Mr Sunak repeated his commitment to “integrity, professionalism and accountability”.
And Mr Starmer called him, “the boss who is so weak, so worried the bullies will turn on him that he hides behind them”. Two cases involving Sir Gavin have been referred to Parliament’s bullying watchdog.
One is over expletive-ridden texts to the Chief Whip and another about claims he told a civil servant to “slit your throat”. Sir Gavin rejects the characterisation of his words, but has not denied using them.