His departure came shortly after a former civil servant, who claimed Sir Gavin told them to “cut your throat”, made a formal complaint against the Cabinet minister. In his resignation letter shared on Twitter, Sir Gavin said he “denied the characterization of these allegations” but that the allegations “became a distraction from the good work this government is doing for the British people”. As a result, he had “decided to leave the government” and would “fully follow the whistleblowing process”. In his response, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he accepted the resignation “with great regret” but added: “I support your decision to step down and I understand why you did it.” Labor deputy leader Angela Rayner said the events showed “yet another Tory government has descended into chaos”. The allegations against Sir Gavin came to light at the weekend when reports claimed he had sent abusive texts to former leader Wendy Morton complaining about being excluded from the Queen’s funeral. Ms Morton made a complaint to the Conservative Party about the messages, but earlier today confirmed she had reported him to the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS), the parliament’s independent watchdog. On Monday, another allegation emerged, with a former MoD official saying Sir Gavin had told them to “cut your throat” and, on another occasion, “jump out of a window” in what they called an ongoing campaign of intimidation. Earlier, this former civil servant confirmed that they too would go to ICGS as the incidents had an “extreme impact” on their mental health. Writing to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who appointed him to his new cabinet just two weeks ago and has been at his minister’s side all week, Sir Gavin said: “As you know, there is an ongoing complaints process about text messages that I sent to a colleague [Ms Morton]. I comply with this process and have apologized to the recipient for these messages. “Since then other allegations have been made about my behavior in the past. I dispute the characterization of these allegations, but recognize that they are a distraction from the good work this Government is doing for the British people. “Therefore, I have decided to step down from government so that I can fully comply with the ongoing whistleblowing process and clear my name of any wrongdoing.” He added that it was “with real sadness” that he was tendering his resignation, but that he would offer Mr Sunak his “full and complete support from behind” and was “proud” to have worked for his government. Labour’s Ms Rayner pointed the finger at the Prime Minister, arguing that Mr Sunack had appointed Sir Gavin “in full knowledge of the serious allegations about his conduct and had repeatedly expressed confidence in him” and that the events of the past weak were ” a damning reflection of a weak Prime Minister”. He added: “This is yet another example of Rishi Sunak’s poor judgment and weak leadership. It is clear that he is trapped by the lousy backroom deals he made to avoid a vote and is incapable of putting country before party. Sir Gavin served as Theresa May’s chief whip from 2016 and then as defense secretary from November 2017 to May 2019, but was sacked amid controversy over a government leak. He was rehired by Boris Johnson as education secretary two months later, but was sacked again in September 2021 after much criticism over his handling of the pension during the pandemic. Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper MP said: “This should be the third and last time Gavin Williamson is forced out of cabinet. “Rishi Sunak has serious questions to answer about why he appointed Gavin Williamson and then stood by him instead of sacking him. His promise to lead a government of integrity has now been repudiated.”
