Former education secretary Sir Gavin Williamson accused teaching unions of 'hating work' and described them as 'a bunch of absolute arses' during the coronavirus pandemic.
Leaked WhatsApp messages show Sir Gavin and the former Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, in a bitter feud over moves to keep schools open during the pandemic. Amongst this Mr Hancock and Sir Gavin criticised the education unions ahead of the re-opening of classes in May 2020 with Sir Gavin saying unions “really do just hate work”.
This came after schools had been closed for two months, except for vulnerable children and for those whose parents were key workers, in an attempt to slow the spread of Covid-19. Mr Hancock would reply and refer to unions as a "bunch of absolute arses," the messages published in the Telegraph show.
The leaked comments sparked fury from union leaders, with ASCL boss Geoff Barton blasting the "appalling lack of respect for teachers" shown in the "sneering" exchange. NAHT leader Paul Whiteman said he was "beyond words" and accused the Government of "chaos and duplicity".
Teachers and ministers had been in disagreement for months over the safety of schools reopening, with unions and teachers wanting to avoid putting staff and vulnerable children at risk. The continuing pandemic ultimately led to exams in the summer of 2020 being cancelled before Sir Gavin had to U-turn over using a controversial algorithm to calculate pupils' grades.
In the October it was reported that Sir Gavin was planning to delay A-level exams for a few weeks. The Telegraph reports that Mr Hancock contacted Sir Gavin, saying: “Cracking announcement today. What a bunch of absolute arses the teaching unions are.”
Sir Gavin responded: "I know they really really do just hate work." Mr Hancock responded to with laughing emojis.
Following their publication by The Telegraph, the former education secretary tweeted that his comments had been “about some unions and not teachers”. He added: “I have the utmost respect for teachers who work tirelessly to support students.”
A spokesman for Mr Hancock said: “Tonight’s revelations are exactly like last night’s. These are partial accounts, obviously spun with an agenda. They show Matt was focused throughout on saving lives. The right place for a full assessment is the (official Covid) inquiry.”
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