Gavin Williamson fronted government’s flagship anti-bullying campaign

Jump to contentSign up to our newslettersSubscribeNewsSportsVoicesCultureLifestyleTravelPremiumNewsUKUK PoliticsJon StoneWednesday 09 November 2022 10:19CommentsGavin Williamson fronted the campaign while education secretaryTory MP Gavin Williamson fronted the government’s flagship anti-bullying campaign just two years ago, a resurfaced video shows.Sir Gavin resigned from his job as cabinet office minister last night amid allegations he had bullied colleagues across government and the Conservative party.Claims about the senior Tory include that he had told a senior civil servant to “slit your throat” and “jump out of the window”.And leaked messages suggest he sent abusive text messages to a colleague and accused her of excluding him from attending the Queen’s funeral. But in a video from November 2020 when he was education secretary Sir Gavin promised to “stamp out bullying” in a video released for the government’s Anti-Bullying Week programme.”Bullying is never acceptable. Every school must have anti-bullying policies in place so that no pupil fears coming to school or working online,” he said in the broadcast.”I want children to be able to celebrate their differences and what makes each of them unique. That’s why we have ambitious plans to improve behaviour in every school, backing headteachers to make classrooms calm, disciplined places that bring out the best in every pupil.”Sir Gavin had held the role of education secretary from 2019 to 202. He quit his latest role at the Cabinet Office on Tuesday night amid further claims from his former deputy in the whip’s office Anne Milton.A migrant attempting to communicate with journalists is pinned against a fence by members of staff, before being taken out of view, at the Manston immigration short-term holding facility, located at the former Defence Fire Training and Development Centre in Thanet, KentPAHandout photo issued by Just Stop Oil of a protester who has climbed a gantry on the M25 between junctions six and seven in Surrey, leading to the closure of the motorwayPAA grey seal with its pup, at the Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in north Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late October, November and December to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes, the wildlife spectacle attracts visitors from across the UKPADemonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of ParliamentAFP via Getty ImagesA peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty ImagesA villager cooks roti bread at the site of the annual Camel Fair in Pushkar, in India’s desert state of RajasthanAFP via Getty ImagesA red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, ScotlandReutersEngland’s Tara-Jane Stanley scores their side’s seventh try against Brazil during the Women’s Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, LeedsPAGB’s James Hall competes during the men’s parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in LiverpoolAFP/GettyPeople dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, DorsetPAMembers of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a ‘Just Stop Oil’ protest, in LondonReutersA cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in LondonReuters98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay’s Galleria in central LondonPAA meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichmentPAKing Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new governmentPARishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative PartyReutersThe Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market’s annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemicPASculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the ‘Planet A’ Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire townPABritain’s Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her 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Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3.Manchester City FC/GettyProtesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don’t Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the dayAFP/GettyBritish Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her government’s mini-budgetGettyThe Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i’r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 yearsPACriminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the GovernmentPADavid White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III ‘CIIIR’, after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central LondonAFP/GettyA gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud – Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 – on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition – Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in LondonPALabour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthemPAHandout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George’s Chapel, Windsor CastlePA A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in LondonEPAWoody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north LondonPAA flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in KentPAFlowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or compostedPAThe ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St George’s ChapelAFP/GettyMs Milton, formerly MP for Guildford, said he had behaved in a “threatening” and “intimidating” way towards MPs while serving as the government’s chief whip in 2016 and 2017.In his resignation letter Sir Gavin said he rejected the “characterisation” of the many claims “about my past conduct”.But he said they had become a “distraction from the good work the government is doing”.Prime minister Rishi Sunak, who this week said Sir Gavin had his full confidence, said he would accept the resignation “with great sadness” and thanked the MP for his “personal support and loyalty”.Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalismBy registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalistsAlready have an account? sign inRegistration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalismBy registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalistsAlready have an account? sign inGavin WilliamsonConservativesBullyingGavin Williamson fronted the campaign while education secretaryDepartment for EducationPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in