Claims minister being ‘casual with facts’ amid calls for Williamson to lose honour
Sacked defence secretary Gavin Williamson should be removed from the Privy Council, thrown out of the Conservative party and stripped of an honour he was given by then prime minister David Cameron, the SNP has said.
Nationalist defence spokesman Stewart Mcdonald wrote to Sir Jonathan Stephens, the chairman of the honours forfeiture committee, to argue that Mr Williamson was “no longer fit” to hold a CBE bestowed in 2016 in Mr Cameron’s resignation list.
In a letter to Prime Minister Theresa May, Mr Mcdonald said: “He has done further damage to the honours system and I believe that this merits the revocation of his CBE.”
The SNP defence spokesman also called on Mrs May and Brandon Lewis, the chairman of the Conservative Party, to “remove the party whip from Mr Williamson and disbar him from standing as a Conservative candidate”.
But an appeal to the Prime Minister to remove Mr Williamson from the Privy Council appears to already have been dismissed, with Mrs May’s de facto deputy, David Lidington, photographed walking into Downing Street with papers saying the former defence secretary would remain part of the historic body.
Mr Williamson denies responsibility for a leak of discussions in the National Security Council over the involvement of Chinese telecoms company Huawei in delivering the UK’S 5G mobile data network.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said a criminal investigation was unlikely unless the case was passed to them by the Cabinet Office.
Mr Lidington told MPS the government would “co-operate fully” with any investigation, but made clear it believed the matter was “closed”.
In a point of order in the Commons, Mr Mcdonald claimed Mr Lidington had been “casual with the facts” by offering to co-operate with an inquiry that he had no intention of triggering. Moves to help guarantee more work for offshore wind farms goes to Scottish companies have been agreed at a summit in Edinburgh.
Finance secretary Derek Mackay and energy minister Paul Wheelhouse held the summit at St Andrew’s House where industry representatives agreed collective action was needed to ensure the supply chain in Scotland benefits from coming projects.
Developers and supply chain companies were asked to consider taking urgent action to achieve the 60 per cent content targets the UK government’s offshore wind sector deal wants to hit by 2030.
The Scottish Government pledged to look at options for attaching supply chain conditions and incentives to Crown Estate seabed leases.
It will also look at the way the Scottish Parliament reviews and approves decommissioning plans.
Industry representatives will assess Uk-wide fabrication capability to identify areas with highest growth potential.
Mr Mackay said yesterday: “Scotland has all the natural resources to make it an ideal location for offshore wind, but recent projects have failed to deliver significant economic opportunities for Scottish businesses.
“I will continue to champion the strengths and potential of our indigenous supply chain.
“But now it is time for the offshore sector to do more by awarding contracts to our supply chain.
“I acknowledge that the supply chain must work hard to seek opportunities, making strategic investments and considering appropriate collaborations when tendering for contracts.”
GMB Scotland secretary Gary Smith and Unite Scottish secretary Pat Rafferty said: “Actions speak louder than words, but we leave this summit confident that the Scottish Government shares our determination to make sure we get our share of the renewables manufacturing bonanza.”