Gavin Williamson resigns

Sir Gavin Williamson has resigned as a minister following allegations of bullying towards MPs and civil servants.

Texts to then-chief whip Wendy Morton were published in The Sunday Times, in which he warned her not to push him about and said: "there is a price for everything".

A civil servant also told the Guardian, that Sir Gavin had told them to slit their throat and jump out of the window during his time as defence secretary.

His former deputy, Anne Milton, also said he was threatening and intimidating when he was chief whip.

Ex-Conservative Party Chair Jake Berry claims he told prime minister Rishi Sunak about the complaint from Morton, the day before Sir Gavin was appointed as a minister.

He has been reported to the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (the MPs' bullying watchdog) for his messages to Morton. It has also been reported that the MoD civil servant has also lodged a complaint.

This is not the first time Sir Gavin has left government. In 2019, he was sacked as defence secretary after a leak of sensitive information. He was then made education secretary by Boris Johnson, but was removed due to his handling of A-level exams in the pandemic.

In his resignation letter, Sir Gavin said: "I refute the characterisation of these claims, but I recognise these are becoming a distraction for the good work this government is doing for the British people."

Image: By Richard Townshend https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=86690222