RISHI Sunak has confessed he REGRETS having appointed Sir Gavin Williamson to the Cabinet after the MP resigned over bullying allegations.
Speaking at his third ever PMQs as Tory leader, Mr Sunak insisted he had no idea about “specific concerns” relating to Sir Gavin when he served as Chief Whip.
Rishi Sunak to the dispatch box for his third PMQs as Tory leader
Rishi Sunak admitted he regrets having appointed Gavin Williamson to the Cabinet
The PM told the Commons: “I did not know about any of the specific concerns relating to his conduct as Chief Whip, which date back some years.
“I believe that people in public life should treat others with consideration and respect.
“And those are the principles that this government will stand by.”
Mr Sunak added: “I obviously regret appointing someone who has had to resign in the circumstances.”
Shamed Sir Gavin was ousted from the Cabinet for the THIRD time last night.
The PM accepted the resignation of his controversial ally after a string of bullying claims engulfed his new government.
The rookie PM now faces a major backlash over why he resurrected the Tory from the political wilderness and gave him a seat back at the top table.
The self-proclaimed “master of the dark arts” had played a key role whipping MPs into supporting Mr Sunak during his two attempts to enter No10 this year.
But the Cabinet Office minister quit just hours after Downing Street cut him loose, warning the PM would not wait for the outcome of a growing number of investigations into his bad behaviour.
Sir Gavin was previously sacked under Theresa May after being accused of leaking national security information.
And he was later fired by Boris Johnson after a bungling spell at the Department for Education during Covid.
But the latest slew of accusations to hit Sir Gavin after he was controversially parachuted into the heart of Rishi Sunak’s government just two weeks ago.
Ex-deputy chief whip Anne Milton, who worked with Sir Gavin during Theresa May’s premiership, turned the screw with fresh claims of “unethical and immoral” behaviour.
Recalling a time they helped out a Tory MP in financial trouble, she told Channel 4: “I do remember him asking me to give the MP in question the cheque. And he waved it under my nose and said, ‘Make sure when you give him this cheque, he knows I now own him’.”
Responding to Mr Sunak’s confession of regret, Sir Keir Starmer blasted: “Everyone in the country knows someone like Sir Gavin, a sad middle manager getting off on intimidating those beneath.”
The Labour leader added: “Everyone in the country also know someone like the Prime Minister, the boss who is so weak, so worried that bullies will turn on him that he hides behind them.
“What message does he think it sends?
“If he can’t even stand up to a classroom bully with a pet spider, what hope does he have in standing up for the country.”
