SIR Gavin Williamson has denied further claims of using bullying language against officials after The Guardian reported he told one senior civil servant to “slit your throat”.
The unnamed official claimed Williamson also told them to “jump out of the window” when he was defence secretary.
They added that he “deliberately demeaned and intimidated” them.
This comes after it emerged Williamson sent abusive messages to then-chief whip Wendy Morton along with another allegation that he made a “tacit threat” to a female MP about her private life.
The BBC reports that Williamson said he “strongly” rejected allegations of bullying.
The newspaper said the official raised the concerns to the Ministry of Defence’s human resources department but that no formal complaint was made.
In a statement, Williamson said: “I strongly reject this allegation and have enjoyed good working relationships with the many brilliant officials I have worked with across government.
“No specific allegations have ever been brought to my attention.”
A spokesperson for the Cabinet Office, where Williamson currently works as a minister, said the department had “not received notice of any formal complaints about Gavin Williamson’s behaviour from his time at the Ministry of Defence or any other department”.
Speaking from the COP27 climate summit in Egypt, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the language was not acceptable.
Elsewhere, Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said he would sack one of his frontbenchers if they sent angry texts to a colleague.
Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride told Sky News: "There is an independent inquiry, as you know, going on around another … alleged incident between himself and the then-chief whip Wendy Morton.
“I think the important thing we do now is not to start intervening … and opining on who’s right and wrong or what may or may not have happened, but to wait for the results of that investigation.
“And then when we have that, and any other investigation that may be triggered in the meantime, then I think we can take stock and come to a firm conclusion.”
Any investigation could take several weeks, with Stride suggesting Williamson will still be in post by Christmas as any process “will take some time and we’ve got to wait to see what comes out of that”.
The Times reported on Tuesday that Morton is referring Williamson to Parliament’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme, which handles bullying complaints.
Stride, who spoke of an “aura or mystique around” Williamson, said that no minister was “un-sackable”.
“The reality with Cronus is he was much touted but he never actually was released to bite anybody,” Stride told Sky News, in reference to the pet tarantula owned by Williamson while he was chief whip.
Downing Street has since said the PM has “full confidence” in Williamson who was first elected as MP for South Staffordshire in 2010.
The former architectural design firm director served as defence secretary under Theresa May before becoming education secretary under Boris Johnson.
He was sacked from both roles although Sunak brought him back into government after he replaced Liz Truss.
Sunak continues to come under pressure for the re-appointment of both Williamson and Suella Braverman as Home Secretary.
The SNP and Scottish Greens are among those to question the PM’s judgement as well as calling for Williamson’s sacking.
