Morton made a formal complaint to the Conservative Party over allegations of Williamson’s “threatening behaviour” towards her in the final days of Liz Truss’s government. She detailed the messages, which she believed had a misogynistic tone, sources told Tortoise Media. A source close to Williamson told the Tortoise that he “vehemently denies these allegations” and is “very happy to share all communications with the former chief whip with CCHQ [Conservative campaign headquarters] if needed”. Labor says the complaint raises “fresh questions” about Sunak’s decision to “resurrect ministers who left the government under a cloud of misconduct”. Williamson was sacked twice. Theresa May forced him to resign as defense secretary after a National Security Council leak investigation raised security fears, and Boris Johnson kicked him out of the cabinet over his handling of the exam fiasco when he was a minister Education. Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, said: “Gavin Williamson has been sacked from cabinet twice, yet, despite endangering national security, he has now been placed at the heart of the government’s corporate headquarters. “Given his new role and the seriousness of these allegations, there must be an urgent and independent investigation. “Far from restoring integrity, professionalism and accountability, Rishi Sunak is failing to stop the rot. He promised that the appointment of an independent ethics adviser would be one of the first things he would do as prime minister, but instead he has given us more of the same old buffoonery.” Just days before Truss was forced to step down as No 10, Morton’s status as chief whip was in the balance amid talk she had quit over last Wednesday’s Commons vote on fracking, only for Downing Street to insist she stayed on position a few hours later. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Williamson and CCHQ have been approached for comment.
