Rishi Sunak has “full confidence” in Sir Gavin Williamson, Downing Street has said, despite the Cabinet Office minister facing a bullying allegation.
Sir Gavin allegedly sent abusive text messages to former headteacher Wendy Morton complaining that he and other colleagues had been excluded from the Queen’s funeral for political reasons.
But the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Sunak was grateful that Sir Gavin had “expressed his regret” over the messages sent to his colleague.
He added that the Prime Minister has a zero-tolerance approach to bullying within government.
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Asked if the Prime Minister had full confidence in former Defense Secretary Sir Gavin, the spokesman said: “Yes.”
Pressed on why Sir Gavin is still in office if Sunak finds the texts he sent unacceptable, he continued: “Well, as you know, there’s a process going on. I think, obviously, it’s run by the Conservative Party. So , it’s not for me.
“I think the Prime Minister has said it’s right to let this process go and he welcomes Gavin Williamson expressing regret for those comments, which as you say, he doesn’t think are acceptable.”
The spokesman added that Sunak believes Sir Gavin has a “significant contribution” to make to the government.
Sunak is under pressure to return Sir Gavin to government.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said at the time that Sunak “knew there was a disagreement” but was not aware of the “substance” of the messages.
To clarify on Sunday, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Oliver Dowden told Sky News’ Sunday Sophy Ridge program that the Prime Minister knew there was a “difficult relationship” between Sir Gavin and the then chief whip, but ” I wasn’t aware of it.” of “specific allegations” until Saturday evening.
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18:36 Williamson ‘shouldn’t have sent’ text messages
Dowden added that Sir Gavin “regrets the language he used” and also suggested that a number of people had a “difficult relationship” with Ms Morton.
“These were sent in the heat of the moment expressing frustration. It was a difficult time for the party. Now he accepts he shouldn’t have done it and he regrets doing it. Fortunately, we’re in a better place now as a party,” he said.
But Labor has called for an “urgent independent inquiry” into Sir Gavin’s appointment, with shadow climate secretary Ed Miliband warning against a “cover-up” over the allegations.
Speaking on Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Miliband said the matter “really calls into question the judgment of Rishi Sunak and the way he made decisions about his cabinet”, adding that the renewal of Sir Gavin was “not in the public interest”.
“There needs to be an urgent independent investigation into exactly what happened. We can’t cover up, we can’t have a whitewash here,” he said.
“What did Rishi Sunak know? When did he know? What did Gavin Williamson do and what are the implications of that?”
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10:29 Miliband calls for review of bullying
Although Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer said Sir Gavin is “clearly not suitable” for the job, and described his appointment as a sign of how “weak” Rishi Sunak is.
“I think the prime minister has people who are clearly not fit for the job around the cabinet table,” he told reporters.
Screenshots leaked to The Sunday Times appear to show profanity-laden messages from the South Staffordshire MP, including a warning that “everything has a price”.
Another message reads “Think really bad how [Privy Councillors] those who are not favored have been excluded from the funeral.”
A source confirmed to Sky News that the content of the messages was accurate.
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2:29 Williamson is feeling the heat over the allegations
Former Conservative Party leader Sir Jake Berry said he told Mr. Sunak that a harassment complaint had been made against Sir Gavin a day before he entered No.10.
Sir Gavin has been approached for comment.
The Sunday Times quoted the Cabinet Office minister as saying: “I am of course sorry to have been frustrated by the way colleagues and I felt we were treated. I am pleased to have spoken to Wendy and look forward to working positively with her in the future while having in the past.”
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper accused Sunak of ignoring the complaint and called for Sir Gavin to be sacked.
But former environment secretary George Eustice described the matter as “a tempest in a teacup”.
“I think Gavin has apologized for that, he accepts that it’s wrong to use that kind of language, but he was still very frustrated and I’m not entirely sure why the leader referred this to the party instead of trying to sort it out between the two of them. them,” he told Sky News.
Mr Eustice continued: “It was wrong, I shouldn’t have used that kind of language, and the chief whip probably should have been talking to him instead of texting him, but it’s a storm in a cup of tea in the context of the great challenges we face”.
At the weekend, a Conservative party spokesman said: “The Conservative Party has a robust complaints process. This process is rightly confidential so that complainants can come forward in confidence.”
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Sir Gavin was sacked as Defense Secretary in 2019 following the leak of confidential National Security Council information.
After being appointed education secretary by Boris Johnson, he was sacked again from the cabinet in 2021 following the controversy over exam grading during the pandemic.
It is the second major controversy that erupts over the appointments of the cabinet of Mr. Sunak, with the prime minister already under fire for making Suella Braverman his home secretary days after he was fired over security breaches.