Not yet fully in office and already out. Gavin Williamson, Minister of State without Portfolio in Rishi Sunak’s new government, has announced his resignation. “As you know, there is an ongoing complaint procedure regarding the messages I sent to a colleague,” he explained in a letter to the Prime Minister posted on Twitter. “Other accusations have been made” and “they are becoming a distraction for the good work of this government”, he added before announcing that he was stepping down.
His resignation, the first of the new Conservative government formed two weeks ago, comes after a series of revelations concerning insulting and threatening messages he allegedly sent. In particular, he would have insulted by email the former “whip” (responsible for the discipline of Conservative MPs) Wendy Morton to complain about not having been invited to the funeral of Elizabeth II. Others accuse him of harassment when he was at the Ministry of Defense and of “immoral” behavior when he himself was “whip”. According to his former deputy whip Anne Milton, he would have used the financial difficulties of a deputy as a means of pressure.
Already fired twice
Calling her behavior “unethical and immoral”, Anne Milton told Channel 4 that she “felt [que Gavin Williamson] liked dirty gossip and that he used it as a means of pressure if necessary”. Other accusers say Gavin Williamson slurred a civil servant when he was at the MoD, telling him to “cut his throat” and “jump out the window”. The Prime Minister’s Office, the Conservative Party and the Harassment Committee in Parliament have opened investigations.
The appointment of Gavin Williamson, 46, in Rishi Sunak’s cabinet had already raised questions as the character divides. He had already been sacked twice from governments, first under Theresa May due to leaked documents and then under Boris Johnson during the pandemic. Above all, Rishi Sunak would have been informed upstream of accusations against the minister, arousing criticism from the opposition. Rishi Sunak, who repeated his confidence in his minister on Tuesday, said in the evening that he accepted his resignation “with great sadness” but that he “understood” it.