Williamson quit the cabinet in disgrace yesterday, over allegations that he bullied MPs as well as civil servants. He denies any wrongdoing.
The Tories have been slammed for their rank hypocrisy after a video resurfaced online of Gavin Williamson saying bullying is ‘never acceptable’.
Williamson quit the cabinet in disgrace yesterday, over allegations that he bullied MPs as well as civil servants. He denies any wrongdoing.
Allegations of Williamson engaging in bullying behaviour first emerged last month, when the Sunday Times published a series of expletive-laden texts he sent to then-chief whip Wendy Morton. In the WhatsApp messages, Williamson told Morton that it was ‘very poor’ that he and other colleagues were not invited to attend the Queen’s funeral, accusing Morton of ‘rigging’ ticket allocations.
When she told him that this was not the case, he warned Morton “not to push him about” and said that “there is a price for everything”.
A senior civil servant later told the Guardian that, during his time as defence secretary, Sir Gavin told them to “slit your throat” and, on another occasion, to “jump out of the window”.
Yesterday, his former deputy Anne Milton accused him of instilling a culture of fear among Tory MPs by using gossip about their drinking, sex lives or mental health problems as “leverage” to maintain control.
A video has since resurfaced online of Williamson, from his time when he was Education Secretary in November 2020 saying “bullying is never acceptable”, leading to accusation of hypocrisy.
In the video, Williamson said: “This week, anti-bullying week, is a chance to thank schools and teachers for everything they do to make the classroom a safe place for every child to thrive.
“Bullying is never acceptable. Every school must have anti-bullying policies in place so that no pupil fears coming to school or working online.”
One Twitter user wrote in response: “A Tory hypocrite. Well I never.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
To reach hundreds of thousands of new readers and to make the biggest impact we can in the next general election, we need to grow our donor base substantially.
That's why in 2024, we are seeking to generate 150 additional regular donors to support Left Foot Forward's work.
We still need another 124 people to donate to hit the target. You can help. Donate today.