Abdication of responsibility

Williamson’s record of failure

GAVIN WILLIAMSON’S abject mismanagement of schools is made even more inexcusable by the withering analysis of worldleading Sheffield tech and data entrepreneur David Richards.

Frustrated that so many underprivileged children missed out on vital studies during the first lockdown because they did not have access to laptops, he’s furious that history is now repeating itself.

And rightly so.

This latest dereliction of duty on the part of the Education Secretary, another Minister who over- promises and underdelivers, is indicative of woeful complacency on multiple occasions.

This latest lockdown is not a surprise – it’s been inevitable – and countless pupils are in the debt of Mr Richards, the founder of WANDisco, for his foresight setting up Laptops for Kids.

This involves disused laptops being overhauled so that they can be used by children in online lessons – and his innovative example is being followed by groups like the Leeds Tech Angels.

But what is so depressing is that children already lagging behind their peers before Covid will be at even more of a disadvantage because Mr Williamson – and Boris Johnson – failed to prioritise the supply of laptops or provision of free internet access to school children through a British Education Network.

They’re clearly in denial about the scale, and urgency, of the challenge judging by how they tried to fob off MPs – further vindicating this newspaper’s call for a new Education Secretary to be appointed.

It’s not just “total incompetence” – the verdict of Mr Richards who is one of this county’s most measured and respected entrepreneurs – it’s an abdication of responsibility by Gavin Williamson who continues to fail all those children, many from Yorkshire, whose futures depend on his leadership.

And that, in itself, is a prima facie resignation issue.