Rishi Sunak is under fire for bringing Sir Gavin Williamson back into the UK government despite being warned that he was under investigation for allegedly bullying a female colleague.
Former Conservative Party chairman Sir Jake Berry informed Mr Sunak on the day he took office that the then chief whip Wendy Morton had lodged a formal complaint over a series of abusive and threatening texts.
In them, Mr Williamson angrily accused her of seeking to “punish” MPs like him who were out of favour with Liz Truss by excluding them from funeral of Britain's Queen Elizabeth.
The exchange of messages, obtained by The Sunday Times, concluded with him saying: “Well let’s see how many more times you f*** us all over. There is a price for everything.”
Despite the disclosure, Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden insisted that the UK prime minister still had confidence in Mr Williamson, who is now also a minister in the British Cabinet Office.
Mr Dowden – one of Mr Sunak’s closest allies – confirmed the prime minister had been aware there had been a complaint made against Mr Williamson but said he had not known the details of the exchange.
“As you have seen from the former chairman Jake Berry, he says that he highlighted that to the Prime Minister,” he told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme.
“But in terms of the specific allegations, the specific exchange, the Prime Minister wasn’t aware of it until last night.”
However, Labour said it once again raised questions about Mr Sunak’s judgment after he reappointed Suella Braverman as UK home secretary just six days after she was forced to quit over a security breach.
Shadow climate change secretary Ed Miliband told Sky News: “These are incredibly serious issues and I think it really calls into question Rishi Sunak’s judgment and the way he made decisions about his Cabinet.”
Mr Dowden said Mr Williamson regretted sending the messages to Ms Morton at what had been a “difficult time” for the Conservative Party following the election of Ms Truss as leader.
“These were sent in the heat of the moment expressing frustration. It was a difficult time for the party. He now accepts that he shouldn’t have done it, and he regrets doing so,” Mr Dowden said.
“Thankfully we are in a better place now as a party.”
In the messages, Mr Williamson complained it was “very poor” that MPs who “aren’t favoured” had been excluded from the funeral of the Queen at Westminster Abbey.
Ms Morton repeatedly insisted that his claims were unfounded and that the UK government had been allocated an “extremely limited” number of tickets.
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 Berry told the paper that he was informed by the Conservative Party chief executive on October 24th – the day before Mr Sunak formally took office – that a formal complaint had been made against Mr Williamson.
“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.
Mr Williamson, who was knighted by Boris Johnson earlier this year, is a divisive figure at Westminster where he is 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 leaking details of a National Security Council meeting and then by Mr Johnson as education secretary over the Covid-19 A-levels debacle.
However, he was regarded as a key figure in Mr Sunak’s campaign over the summer to become party leader.
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.”
