Following allegations of bullying, Sir Gavin Williamson has resigned as a government minister. He claims he wants to clear his name “any transgression.
The MP has been charged with abusing a senior civil worker while the defence secretary and sending abusive messages to a fellow Tory MP last month.
According to Sir Gavin, he “refuted” the way his behaviour had been described.
He did, however, add that the allegations were “diverting” attention away from the government’s “positive work”.
He expressed “genuine sadness” in his resignation letter but gave Prime Minister Rishi Sunak his resignation instead “complete and utter backing from the backbenches
According to BBC News, he later tweeted he would not be taking any severance pay, adding that the money should go towards the government’s priorities such as “reducing the NHS’s waiting lists”.
In his resignation letter, he said he was leaving government with “real sadness” but offered Prime Minister Rishi Sunak his “full and total support from the backbenches
“Your commitment to successive Conservative governments and the party over the years has been unwavering.”
Sir Gavin had come under increasing pressure since a series of expletive-laden text messages sent by him to Tory colleague and then-Chief Whip Wendy Morton were published in the Sunday Times.
On Monday a senior civil servant told the Guardian Sir Gavin had bullied them and told them to “slit your throat”.
And on Tuesday, Anne Milton, who worked as deputy chief whip between 2015 and 2017, told Channel 4 News that Sir Gavin’s behaviour had been “threatening” and “intimidating”.
Earlier, Downing Street said it had been seeking to establish the facts about the reported comments to the civil servant.
Sir Gavin had also been reported to the MPs’ bullying watchdog – the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS) – over his WhatsApps to Ms Morton.
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