Ex-cabinet minister Sir Gavin Williamson apologises to MPs for bullying former chief whip
Sir Gavin Williamson has apologised and agreed to undertake anti-bullying training after using “intemperate” and “inappropriate” language in an exchange with former chief whip Wendy Morton.
In a personal statement made in the Commons, the former education secretary admitted he had used language which “I regret”.
Sir Gavin was ordered by an expert panel to apologise to MPs for bullying Ms Morton after he was not allocated tickets to the late Queen’s funeral.
He told the Commons: “During this exchange I used intemperate and inappropriate language which I regret and I apologised for shortly after.
“My behaviour led to a complaint, the complaint was initially dismissed by the Commissioner for Parliamentary Standards, however this decision was appealed and subsequently reversed by the independent expert panel.
“I accept the decision that my conduct constituted a breach of the bullying and harassment policy, and have since reflected on my behaviour. I reiterate my apology made to the complainant following the breach.”
Politics live: Keegan faces questions as Streeting attacks Tories
He added: “I apologise to them again now and I apologise to the House fully and unreservedly. I will do my utmost to ensure this does not happen again.”
Allegations were made against the former education secretary – who had also served as a chief whip – back in November last year after Sir Gavin sent a number of text messages to her, including one that warned her “there is a price for everything”.
It led to him resigning as a Cabinet Office minister from Rishi Sunak’s newly formed government, with a pledge to “clear my name of any wrongdoing”.
The accusations surfaced in the media two weeks after Mr Sunak took the keys to Number 10 after the political downfall of his short-lived predecessor Liz Truss.
Ms Morton, who had served under her as chief whip, told parliament’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS) that Sir Gavin had sent her a series of text messages in September after he was not invited to the Queen’s funeral, attributing the perceived snub as being down to him not supporting Ms Truss in the party’s leadership election.
She claimed the messages were “threatening”, “intimidating” and “undermining”.
At the time, Mr Sunak said he had full confidence in Sir Gavin, though he welcomed the ICGS’s investigation into the case.
Wendy Morton served as chief whip in Liz Truss’s government.
The IGCS investigator concluded Sir Gavin was in breach of bullying and harassment policy. However, the decision was overturned by the Standards Commissioner Daniel Greenberg, leading Ms Morton to appeal.
The Independent Expert Panel (IEP), which handles such cases, today released its own report, upholding her complaint.
It showed phrases from the message from Sir Gavin, including:
• “Don’t forget I know how this works so don’t [push] me about”
• “It’s very clear how you are going to treat a number of us which is very stupid and you are showing **** all interest in pulling things together. Don’t bother asking anything from me”
• “Well let’s see how many more times you **** us all over. There is a price for everything”
• “You are using her death to punish people who are just supportive, absolutely disgusting”
The IEP ruled Sir Gavin should make a personal statement to the House apologising for his actions, as well as undergo training “to avoid a repetition of similar behaviour and increase his awareness of the impact of bullying on others”.
They described the messages as “an abuse of power” and said his conduct had “gone beyond vigorous complaint or political disagreement to a threat to lever his power and authority as a former chief whip to undermine her personally as revenge”.
The IEP said it had “considered carefully” whether he should face suspension from the Commons, but had instead decided a “full and unreserved apology”, along with behaviour training, was required.
The panel also said Sir Gavin had accepted the ruling.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
PM regrets giving Williamson a job
Sir Gavin was recommended for a knighthood by Boris Johnson in 2022.
Despite holding a number of roles in government, he is also a controversial figure, having been sacked by Theresa May in 2019 for leaking details of a National Security Council meeting, and again by Mr Johnson as education secretary over the issues with A-levels during COVID.
Sky News has contacted Sir Gavin for a statement.
The SEC responded shortly after the issuers filed effective registration amendments for staked SOL and Ether exchange-traded funds.
IMF questions Pakistan’s plan to allocate 2,000 megawatts of electricity for Bitcoin mining amid energy shortages and budget talks.
There is “no doubt” the UK “will spend 3% of our GDP on defence” in the next parliament, the defence secretary has said.
John Healey’s comments come ahead of the publication of the government’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR) on Monday.
This is an assessment of the state of the armed forces, the threats facing the UK, and the military transformation required to meet them.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously set out a “clear ambition” to raise defence spending to 3% in the next parliament “subject to economic and fiscal conditions”.
Mr Healey has now told The Times newspaper there is a “certain decade of rising defence spending” to come, adding that this commitment “allows us to plan for the long term. It allows us to deal with the pressures.”
A government source insisted the defence secretary was “expressing an opinion, which is that he has full confidence that the government will be able to deliver on its ambition”, rather than making a new commitment.
The UK currently spends 2.3% of GDP on defence, with Sir Keir announcing plans to increase that to 2.5% by 2027 in February.
This followed mounting pressure from the White House for European nations to do more to take on responsibility for their own security and the defence of Ukraine.
The 2.3% to 2.5% increase is being paid for by controversial cuts to the international aid budget, but there are big questions over where the funding for a 3% rise would be found, given the tight state of government finances.
While a commitment will help underpin the planning assumptions made in the SDR, there is of course no guarantee a Labour government would still be in power during the next parliament to have to fulfil that pledge.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
From March: How will the UK scale up defence?
A statement from the Ministry of Defence makes it clear that the official government position has not changed in line with the defence secretary’s comments.
The statement reads: “This government has announced the largest sustained increase to defence spending since the end of the Cold War – 2.5% by 2027 and 3% in the next parliament when fiscal and economic conditions allow, including an extra £5bn this financial year.
“The SDR will rightly set the vision for how that uplift will be spent, including new capabilities to put us at the leading edge of innovation in NATO, investment in our people and making defence an engine for growth across the UK – making Britain more secure at home and strong abroad.”
Sir Keir commissioned the review shortly after taking office in July 2024. It is being led by Lord Robertson, a former Labour defence secretary and NATO secretary general.
The Ministry of Defence has already trailed a number of announcements as part of the review, including plans for a new Cyber and Electromagnetic Command and a £1bn battlefield system known as the Digital Targeting Web, which we’re told will “better connect armed forces weapons systems and allow battlefield decisions for targeting enemy threats to be made and executed faster”.
Read more:
Trump to double tariffs on steel imports
Why stockpiling vapes could be dangerous
Last hospital in northern Gaza out of service
PM Sir Keir Starmer and Defence Secretary John Healey on a nuclear submarine earlier this year. Pic: Crown Copyright 2025
On Saturday, the defence secretary announced a £1.5bn investment to tackle damp, mould and make other improvements to poor quality military housing in a bid to improve recruitment and retention.
Mr Healey pledged to “turn round what has been a national scandal for decades”, with 8,000 military family homes currently unfit for habitation.
He said: “The Strategic Defence Review, in the broad, will recognise that the fact that the world is changing, threats are increasing.
“In this new era of threat, we need a new era for defence and so the Strategic Defence Review will be the vision and direction for the way that we’ve got to strengthen our armed forces to make us more secure at home, stronger abroad, but also learn the lessons from Ukraine as well.
“So an armed forces that can be more capable of innovation more quickly, stronger to deter the threats that we face and always with people at the heart of our forces… which is why the housing commitments that we make through this strategic defence review are so important for the future.”
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway