International

UK Minister quits amid bullying allegations

London, Nov 9 (UNI): Gavin Williamson, a cabinet office minister in British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government, has resigned after mounting allegations that he had bullied colleagues.

On Tuesday, in his resignation letter posted on Twitter, Williamson said he had apologised to the recipient for the messages and was cooperating with an investigation. However, he rejected claims of bullying in the second incident.

Advertisement

“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,” he wrote.

“I have therefore decided to step back from government so that I can comply fully with the complaints process that is underway and clear my name of any wrongdoing,” he added.

Sunak said he had accepted Williamson’s resignation “with great sadness”. The MP had been accused of sending abusive messages to a fellow Tory MP last month and of bullying a senior civil servant as Defence Secretary, BBC reported.

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”.

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, the BBC said.

On Monday, a senior civil servant told The Guardian that Sir Gavin had bullied them and told them that he would “slit your throat”.

Related Articles

Back to top button
Close

Adblock Detected

Kindly Disable Ad Blocker