Downing Street calls latest Williamson allegations ‘serious’

Rishi Sunak still has confidence in under-fire minister Sir Gavin Williamson, even as Downing Street described as ‘serious’ an allegation that he told a senior civil servant to ‘slit your throat’.The Prime Minister is under increasing pressure over his decision to bring his ally back into Government after The Guardian reported fresh incendiary allegations about his conduct, with a Ministry of Defence (MoD) official telling the newspaper Sir Gavin made the remarks in front of colleagues in a meeting, and on another occasion told them to ‘jump out of the window’.Downing Street on Tuesday said that Mr Sunak still has confidence in his ally.The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘Obviously, there have been further allegations reported this morning. Those are serious allegations that have come in. It’s true that no formal complaint has been made.’Downing Street said it would consider ‘proper processes’ before commenting further.Earlier, Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said if true, the remarks would be ‘utterly, utterly unacceptable’ but said that for now the report is in the ‘realm of media speculation’.Sir Gavin has said he ‘strongly’ rejects the allegation and insisted he has ‘enjoyed good working relationships’ with officials.But the allegations, including that Sir Gavin ‘deliberately demeaned and intimidated’ the civil servant on a regular basis, will add to the calls for his sacking.The Prime Minister is already under fire for bringing Sir Gavin back into the Government when he knew he was under investigation for allegedly bullying former chief whip Wendy Morton.The PA news agency understands Ms Morton is referring Sir Gavin to Parliament’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme, which handles bullying complaints.The Times, which first revealed the development, reported that it was linked to concerns about a ‘whitewash’ by the Conservative Party.Any investigation could take several weeks, with Mr Stride suggesting Sir Gavin will still be in post by Christmas as any process ‘will take some time and we’ve got to wait to see what comes out of that’.Mr Stride, who spoke of an ‘aura or mystique around’ Sir Gavin, said that no minister was ‘un-sackable’.’The reality with Cronus is he was much touted but he never actually was released to bite anybody,’ Mr Stride told Sky News, in reference to the pet tarantula owned by Sir Gavin while he was chief whip.Labour has continued to maintain the pressure on the Government, with shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper on Tuesday accusing the Prime Minister of making ‘grubby political deals that aren’t in the national interest’ to appoint Sir Gavin and Suella Braverman.In a series of expletive-laden texts exposed over the weekend, Sir Gavin accused Ms Morton of seeking to ‘punish’ MPs out of favour with then-premier Liz Truss by excluding them from the Queen’s funeral, warning: ‘There is a price for everything.’Sir Gavin, who was sacked as defence secretary in 2019, issued a statement denying the broad allegations in The Guardian’s report but did not specifically deny using the language alleged.’I strongly reject this allegation and have enjoyed good working relationships with the many brilliant officials I have worked with across Government,’ he said.’No specific allegations have ever been brought to my attention.’The newspaper said the official, who later left Government, complained to the MoD’s head of human resources about the alleged incidents, but it was understood the Cabinet Office’s propriety and ethics team has not received a complaint about Sir Gavin’s conduct towards officials.A Cabinet Office spokesman said: ‘The Cabinet Office has not received notice of any formal complaints about Gavin Williamson’s behaviour from his time at the Ministry of Defence or any other department.’Conservative former cabinet minister Baroness Morgan said she had ‘run-ins’ with Sir Gavin when he was Theresa May’s chief whip, adding: ‘None of this surprises me, sadly.’She told TalkTV on Monday: ‘Unfortunately Gavin has a reputation, it’s not a very nice one, and I really don’t know why Rishi Sunak felt he had to have him back in Government.’Sir Gavin, who was knighted after being nominated for the honour by Boris Johnson earlier this year, is a divisive figure at Westminster where he is viewed with suspicion by many Tory MPs because of his reputation as an inveterate plotter.He was sacked first by Theresa May as defence secretary for leaking details of a National Security Council meeting, and then by Mr Johnson as education secretary over the Covid-19 A-levels debacle.However, he was regarded as a key figure in Mr Sunak’s campaign over the summer to become party leader.