Rishi Sunak retains total confidence in Sir Gavin Williamson and welcomes that he has “expressed regret” about angry texts sent to a colleague, Downing Street said on Monday.
The Prime Minister is under fire for bringing Sir Gavin back into the Government despite being warned that he was under investigation for allegedly bullying former chief whip Wendy Morton.
The Cabinet Office minister is being probed over a series of abusive and allegedly threatening messages sent to Ms Morton during Liz Truss’ 50-day administration complaining he had been excluded from the Queen’s funeral.
Asked if Mr Sunak has full confidence in Sir Gavin, the PM’s official spokesman said: “Yes.”
Pressed on why Sir Gavin is still in post if Mr Sunak views the texts he sent as unacceptable, he said: “Well, as you know, there is a process going on. I think, obviously, that’s run by the Conservative Party. So, it’s not one for me.
“I think the Prime Minister has said that it’s right to let that process happen and he welcomes that Gavin Williamson has expressed regret about those comments, which as you say he doesn’t think are acceptable.”
The PM’s official spokesman said at the time Mr Sunak “knew there was a disagreement”, but was not aware of the “substance” of the messages.
Asked why he gave Sir Gavin a Government job, he said: “Obviously he thinks he has an important contribution to make to Government.”
Earlier on Monday, Business Secretary Grant Shapps strongly criticised Sir Gavin’s messages to Ms Morton as “deeply inappropriate”.
But he said that they had happened “prior” to Mr Sunak becoming Prime Minister on October 25, stressing he wanted to clean up politics.
Mr Shapps also emphasised that an investigation by the Conservative Party into the emails should be allowed to follow its course.
Sir Gavin, who was a backbencher at the time, accused her of using the death of the Monarch to “punish” senior MPs who were out of favour with Ms Truss’s government.
The exchange of messages, obtained by The Sunday Times, reportedly concluded with him saying: “Well let’s see how many more times you f*** us all over. There is a price for everything.”
The paper said the then party chairman, Sir Jake Berry, informed Mr Sunak the day before he entered No 10 that Ms Morton had submitted a formal complaint to the party about Sir Gavin’s conduct.
Both Sir Jake and Ms Morton lost their jobs in the ensuing reshuffle while Sir Gavin, a former Chief Whip and a supporter of Mr Sunak, returned to government.
In the messages, Sir Gavin complained it was “very poor” that privy councillors, senior politicians who formally advise the Monarch, who “aren’t favoured” have been excluded from the funeral at Westminster Abbey.
Ms Morton repeatedly insisted that his claims were unfounded and that the Government had been allocated an “extremely limited” number of tickets, most of which went to members of the Cabinet.
Mr Williamson retorted: “Well certainly looks it which think is very shit and perception becomes reality. Also don’t forget I know how this works so don’t puss (sic) me about.
“It’s very clear how you are going to treat a number of us which is very stupid and you are showing f*** all interest in pulling things together.
“Also this shows exactly how you have rigged it is is (sic) disgusting you are using her death to punish people who are just supportive, absolutely disgusting.”
“Well let’s see how many more times you f*** us all over. There is a price for everything.”
Mr Shapps suggested Sir Gavin had written the emails in a “moment of frustration” which “I’m sure he regrets very deeply”.
He told LBC Radio: “It’s completely inappropriate to send messages like that under any circumstances, frustration or otherwise.
“There is no justification for writing to anybody in those terms.”
Speaking on Times Radio, Mr Shapps added: “The Prime Minister has been really clear that he wants to make sure that people are respectful to others, that we have an adminstration where people are polite and businesslike and get on with each other.”
But he added on the Sir Gavin storm: “This is referring to issues prior to, of course, him becoming Prime Minister.”
Sir Jake told the Sunday paper that he was informed by the Conservative Party chief executive on October 24 that a complaint had been made against Sir Gavin regarding allegations of “bullying and intimidation of parliamentary colleagues”.
“In compliance with protocol, in my capacity as party chairman, I informed both the new Prime Minister and his incoming chief of staff about the complaint on the same day,” he said.
According to The Sunday Times, Mr Sunak did not recall the “specifics” of their conversation.
The Prime Minister has said Sir Gavin’s emails were not “acceptable”.
He told The Sun on his way to the COP27 summit in Egypt: “I did know there was a disagreement from these two individuals but the substance of the text messages I didn’t see until last night (Saturday night).”
Sir Gavin was made a privy councillor and awarded a knighthood by Boris Johnson when he was Prime Minister earlier this year.
He is, however, viewed with suspicion by many Tory MPs because of his reputation as an inveterate plotter.
He was sacked first by Theresa May as Defence Secretary for allegedly leaking details of a National Security Council meeting, which he always denied, and then by Mr Johnson as Education Secretary after the Covid-19 exams debacle.
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said Mr Sunak’s decision to bring Sir Gavin back into Government called his judgment into question.
“Gavin Williamson was sacked from Cabinet twice, yet despite risking national security, he’s back at the heart of Government,” she said.
“Rishi Sunak’s pledge to restore integrity, professionalism and accountability has been exposed as nothing more than hollow words. Far from stopping the rot in Downing Street, he’s letting it fester.”
A Conservative Party spokesman: “The Conservative Party has a robust complaints process in place.
“This process is rightly a confidential one, so that complainants can come forward in confidence.”
Sir Gavin told The Sunday Times: “I of course regret getting frustrated about the way colleagues and I felt we were being treated.
“I am happy to speak with Wendy and I hope to work positively with her in the future as I have in the past.”
