. and they ended up sacking gavin williamson-— and they ended up sacking gavin williamson. ~ ., ., , anding even though borisjohnson said they had when i or two which would've meant that he could go onto the ballot and if he had gone on to the ballot and if he had gone on to the ballad of the membership, there's a good chance a boris johnson would've won. and rishi sunak would've thought that he was in debt to gavin williamson and he would've also felt that he is somebody who knows his way from the parliamentary party in the dark arts of how you run a government in westminster but the problem is, gavin williamson really has a very small level of support. support comes in two areas. one, there's a pretty small band of tory mps that are very loyal to gavin williamson and the second group are loyal to gavin williamson and prime ministers who think that he has a magical way of conjuring up numbers but of course, it has always ended in tears. . ~ course, it has always ended in tears. ., ~ , ., course, it has always ended in tears. ., ~ . ., course, it has always ended in tears. ., . ., .,

he said no, gavin williamson said something very similar. there we re said something very similar. ng the finger at mr williamson, they said he had a record of leaking things to the press and causing mischief. but asi the press and causing mischief. but as i say, he is absolutely denying any involvement in this. subsequently followed are... let's just concentrate on that investigation pretty mode. as we sign the letter, theresa may said, a piteous evening the later information —— i put to you this evening the latest information about the investigation. have they given any more information about that investigation how is conducted? leg no, there was some scepticism about this investigation doesn't these things have been better get in the past and it is really hard to prove. you might have the phone records of someone's adviser or the abdomen so themselves, they may have a vehicle ofa themselves, they may have a vehicle of a phone call. that is the problem, to have conclusive evidence can be difficult. this has been carried out pretty quickly by the most senior civil servant in the go

gavin williamson is the only erson, head. gavin williamson is the only person. priti _ head.amson is the only person, priti patel being _ head. gavin williamson is the only person, priti patel being at - head. gavin williamson is the only person, priti patel being at the - head. gavin williamson is the only| person, priti patel being at the top of any— person, priti patel being at the top of any list. — person, priti patel being at the top of any list, of being demoted in any reshuffle, _ of any list, of being demoted in any reshuffle, gavin williamson was the one person — reshuffle, gavin williamson was the one person consistently above her. you see _ one person consistently above her. you see this — one person consistently above her. you see this today, seeing in his interview— you see this today, seeing in his interview with the evening standard where _ interview with the evening standard where he _ interview with the evening standard where he met marcus rashford, the manchester united striker — but actually — manchester united striker — but actually it — manchester united

back now to our main breaking story this evening, defence secretary gavin williamson has been sacked inister asked mr williamson to leave the government having lost confidence in his ability to serve. political correspondent ben wright reports. are you or any of your officials behind the huawei league? absolutely not. ambitious, young, self—assured, gavin williamson was a rising star of the tory party with his sights trained on number ten, but his career is now in tatters, sacked over lea ks career is now in tatters, sacked over leaks from a national security council meeting. yesterday he denied doing anything wrong. council meeting. yesterday he denied doing anything wronglj council meeting. yesterday he denied doing anything wrong. i never have lea ked doing anything wrong. i never have leaked anything from the national security council, nor would i ever lea k security council, nor would i ever leak anything from the national security council. gavin williamson became an mp in 2010, he was given a role in the northern ireland office and became an aide to david cameron. in 2016, he wa

gavin williamson _ has been said about this. gavin williamson 's _ has been said about this.out this. gavin williamson 's former defence l williamson �*s former defence secretary, former education secretary, former education secretary, was sacked by boris johnson but he returned to government when rishi sunak became prime minister. he is now a minister in the cabinet office. the sunday times has obtained texts he sent to wendy morton, then the chief whip, shortly after the queen died. in it gavin williamson appears to be upset he is not getting any of the government's allocation to funeral tickets to go to the funeral, he accuses wendy morton of rigging that allocation. in a series of texts he warns wendy morton not to push him about, he says there is a price of everything, there are a few we cannot quote because of the language and wendy morton complained to the party about these texts. what is making this situation even more uncomfortable for the prime minister rishi sunak �*s we now know he was told gavin williamson was the subject of a complaint before he put him into gov

story any more with evidence they say they have and which is emphatic and compelling against gavin williamsonis now to bea williamson. they consider this now to be a closed issue. thank you very much. the uk should lead the world away from dangerous climate change, by cutting greenhouse gases to virtually zero by 2050, according to a new report. the committee on climate change, which is the government's official adviser, says that, if other countries follow suit, the world stands a 50—50 chance of keeping the global temperature increase below 1.5 degrees. the report also lists a number of things you can do to reduce emissions. when heating your home, it suggests turning the thermostat down to 19 degrees in winter. when travelling, it says we must fly less and britain must ban all but electric cars by 2030 — ten years earlier than the current plan. and we should all eat less meat, which can reduce our dietry emissions by 35%. but individual choices won't be enough, the report says. only huge changes to government policy and tens of billions in investment can save the planet. our environment an

gavin williamson moves from chief whip following the resignation of sir michael fallon. deputy chief whip. jonathan beale is here now. we are hearing more political than military reaction at this early stage to the appointment of gavin williamson. let's talk about the main challenges facing him. given that he has no background. yes, the first job he's got is developing any kind of relationship with a military. is not someone relationship with a military. is not someone with a military background. some people look down on that but, let's be honest, many defence secretaries have had no military background themselves, so that's not going to be necessarily a stumbling block, but he has walked into a very toughjob. he block, but he has walked into a very tough job. he has block, but he has walked into a very toughjob. he has got to deal with the potential of defence cuts. security reviews are going on at the moment. the mod is in tough financial straits. yes, there has been an increase in the defence budget but they are having to make savings of more than £20 billion and all t

it leaves with gavin williamson's resignation. and new security risk claims, and perhaps you're only a prime minister when you have a cabinet resignation on your hands. yes, although one wouldn't expect that this quickly. it's barely two weeks since rishi sunak stood outside number ten and spoke about the need for integrity and politics, so it's in fort —— concurrently unfortunate that the person whose resigned is going because of some serious allegations of bullying. you talk about how the front pages had to be rewritten, but i think for the whole of today, the direction of travel about this story has really only been going in one direction, particularly when you think about the high political cost to keep gavin williamson and post. we have prime minister's questions tomorrow, the leader of the opposition was bounded to be asking questions about the story because it's really been what everyone has been talking about in the media and in political circles because the bullying was so explicit, the texts and whatsapp messages that ha

this is the third time gavin williamson has had to leave government. hi sunak gave him a place in his cabinet, as a cabinet 0fficer minister williamson resigned last night, following a meeting with the prime minister, after a string of bullying claims, which he denies. in one allegation, he sent abusive text messages to former chief whip wendy morton in another, he's alleged to have told a civil servant to "slit your throat" and "jump out of the window". last night, more claims were made about intimidation and threatening behaviour. sirgavin, who was knighted by borisjohnson, has denied the allegations and says he wants to clear his name. but at prime minister's questions this lunchtime, rishi sunak is likely to be challenged about why he brought gavin williamson back into government. here's our political correspondent, jonathan blake. returning to government just a fortnight ago, sir gavin williamson was a controversial choice. and after days of accusations about his conduct came to a head, he resigned from his ministerial role last night. in a letter

gavin williamson and others denied it, but he has been apparently identified, according to this letterperson that you cannot trust. he is still denying it. thank you very much. great how the onset. we can very much. great how the onset. we ca n ci’oss very much. great how the onset. we can cross the placental lobby to speak to the deputy labour leader... no, actually we have the chair of the defence committee to stop we had a little bit of confusion. thank you very much for being with us. let's get straight in. and get your response to this news that governments and has been sacked. leg well, from the from the point of your defence it is a loss. he never said he was an expert on defence, but he was willing to listen to experts on defence. and if he could be convinced of a rightness of a course of action, he would go in and fight for it. and i have in mind, the disastrous proposal to get rid of her and petty as capability, hms albion and hms bill which he stopped dead. and i have the attempts that we re dead. and i have the attempts that were made to cut the defence budget in favour of

this morning, gavin williamson's departmental boss said sir gavin regretted the messages he sent.e shouldn't have said it, he has said he regrets doing so. what is the consequence for him? he has given some context that this was at the time of heightened frustration, it was, remember him as a backbencher to the chief whip. so if you're in a bad mood it's ok to talk like that to a colleague? this is not acceptable. however, there is this complaints process ongoing and it was not the case that the prime minister had seen this exchange. but a former cabinet colleague of gavin williamson suggested the prime minister doesn't have time for these kind of scandals. the texts he sent to the chief whip were unacceptable and i think rishi sunak doesn't have the bandwidth for this kind of negative publicity. labour are questioning the prime minister's judgment. what it says is that rishi sunak was making decisions simply in his own narrow short—term interest as far as the conservative party leadership was concerned, not the national interest. rishi sunak had already faced criticism for reappo

theresa may is preparing for her succession with the surprise appointment of the former chief whip gavin williamsons says that mr williamson's appointment leaves the prime minister vulnerable to a renewed coup on herjob. the guardian also leads with the appointment of gavin williamson. they say that the prime minister's choice has angered backbench tory mps. the same story leads the i. it also focuses on the anger from tory backbenchers at his appointment. and the former chief whip's promotion also leads the metro. the ft leads with the rise in interest rates, signalling that more increases could be on the way. and the express says that thousands of foreign nationals, who were supposed to be deported by the home office, are on the run in britain. that is a summary of the news. now, newsnight. it's been 10 years, three months and 27 days of cheaper and cheaper money. but today, it just got a little dearer. the bank of england hikes interest rates by 0.25%, but who's that going to help? we ask whether the bank has got its timing right. also tonight, a breaking story of fresh allegations of sexual har

you may have heard earlier on, there is sir gavin williamson. e minister did know about the prime minister did know about the complaint against sir gavin before appointing him to thatjob in his government. but he hadn't seen the messages themselves. sport and time for aa full round up, from the bbc sport centre. the gunners top of the table? zwr arsenal have gone back to the top of the premier league after beating chelsea. having fallen behind manchester city on goal difference after their dramatic victory yesterday. arsenal responded today with a 1—0 win over their london rivals at stamford bridge. jane dougal reports. up up against his old club for the first time, after a war of words, wood chelsea's pierre—emerick aubameyang send a message to his old arsenal manager? he didn't take long to antagonise arteta, but in the first half the chances went arsenal's way. a beautiful ball to jesus. ,, ., arsenal's way. a beautiful ball to jesus, ,, ., ., arsenal's way. a beautiful ball to jesus. ,, ., ., arsenal's way. a beautiful ball to | jesus-_ inche

police over the leak from the national security council, which led to the defence secretary gavin williamson night. labour want a criminal investigation into whether the leak was a breach of the official secrets act. mr williamson has strongly denied being the source of newspaper reports about the potential involvement of the chinese firm huawei in the uk's 56 mobile network. he says he‘s been the victim of a ‘kangaroo court.‘ here‘s our political correspondent ben wright. welcoming the leader of iceland to number ten this morning, a day after dispatching her defence secretary in one of the most extraordinary ministerial sackings of recent years. prime minister, did you get the wrong man? she told gavin williamson there was compelling evidence he was behind an unprecedented leak of secret information from the national security council last week about the chinese firm huawei‘s potential involvement in the uk‘s 5g network, but before his sacking mr williamson denied any involvement in the leak. are you or any of your officials behind the huawei... absolutely not. he has continued to protest hi

gavin williamson had been... as questioned, but he had been seen as a very loyal minister, loyal to borisjohnson, so mrjohnson had been perceived to be sort of hanging on to mr williamson. the question then, i guess, will be where does he go? the foreign secretary particularly criticised recently in the last few weeks since the taliban captured kabul and western forces were forced to withdraw, that a lift that we saw, questions about him being on holiday as that was happening. —— that airlift that we saw. and questions about the lack of preparedness for that and the urgent need to try to get people out of danger in afghanistan. sol need to try to get people out of danger in afghanistan. so i think thatis danger in afghanistan. so i think that is where he has been, that is where he has come in for particular criticism lately and that is why people have an eye on his role. also questions about the home secretary, priti patel, and whether she could be another high—profile figure to be moved. and then i guess the ques

but he was - criticised for having around his cabinet table gavin williamson and others thought to beporting rishi sunak�*s a bid to be party leader. negations of bullying have mounted since the weekend against williamson, that he sent expletive laden text messages to the then chief whip, that he made bullying comments to a civil servant, and both figures have lodged complaints, and his former deputy whip tonight claimed he acted unethically and in a threatening manner. as they arrive for their cabinet meeting this morning, ministers said the complaints process should run its course. there is a process going — process should run its course. there is a process going on, _ process should run its course. there is a process going on, as _ process should run its course. there is a process going on, as you - process should run its course. there is a process going on, as you know. | is a process going on, as you know. the claims snowballed throughout the day and that was short—circuited, and in his reply rishi sunak tonight said... the opposition party says rishi sunak�*sjudgment has the opp

let's kick off with gavin williamson, who is on a lot of front pages this morning.on't take the blame — i think you as the education editor of the sunday times, one detail that caught my eye was that his officials had held crisis talks with the regulator last month about the flawed computer model. that's new, i didn't know that. and if they did hold crisis talks last month, why didn't they realise what would happen and do something to stop it happening? that's my point! is the first levels had been alerted to this, he can't say he didn't know about this until the weekend. there was an report by the weekend. there was an report by the education secretary that made it absolutely clear injuly the education secretary that made it absolutely clear in july that this was a disaster waiting to happen, and the very youngsters who would be worst hit would be those high—flying youngsters in tough schools in disadvantage areas. because this algorithm that 0fqual used to award grades this year was very much based in the end on a school's historic exa m in the end on a school's h

rob golledge is a former special adviser to gavin williamson. he joins us from bristol. peed and pace that this investigation has taken place, it has been extraordinary allegations, it has been levelled against gavin williamson and it is extraordinary that the prime minister has taken a decision of this nature. i think it is deeply concerning but i think given his strenuous denial, using in his style very strong, swelling on his style very strong, swelling on his children's lives that he wasn't resource of the league, —— swearing. we need to have some sort of form of information from the prime minister to explain what this compelling evidence is. because otherwise we have this ambiguity where the ex—defence secretary is ardent that he hasn't been responsible as she is saying there is. we need expiration from the prior minister and downing street on this and similarly, i think potentially a police involvement so a detective led enquiry would benefit the situation. do you think that given he was a close confidant to the prior minister for close confidant to the prior minist

prime minister, for either gavin williamson or for defence. we leave it like that? is that acceptable, given how important this is to the way government works? well, clearly from gavin williamson‘s point of view, and i was in touch with him last night because i have had a lot to do with him over the last 18 months, he is protesting his innocence, and i think ina protesting his innocence, and i think in a sense he has a right for that protestation to be tested, and the only way that can be tested, i think, is through a police enquiry. but we‘ve gotta be under no illusions here. this is a very serious matter. the national security council is the nation‘s most significant council, committee, for dealing with the nation‘s defence and security, and what goes on within that national security council should and must be private within the confines of the walls of the meeting room. so leaking, which is something that politicians seem to do fairly frequently, it may be one thing to do it from around the cabinet table, but for someone to do it from the na

in the uk's defence secretary, gavin williamson, has been sacked following an enquiry from the nationale minister that had lost confidence in his ability to serve in her cabinet. mr williamson has contented then i looking information about the role of huawei in the uk bus five g mobile network. in a letter, he said emphatically that the elites did not originate from his department and explained why he chose not to accept the offer to resign. he has been replaced in his role by penny mordaunt to become the uk bus first female defence secretary. let's cross to speak to tom watson, deputy labour leader. this was a parliamentary enquiry, do you think it should become a criminal enquiry? and what is the most brutal sacking letter that i've known in my parliamentary career said that there was compelling evidence that he leaked from the national security council, that is a breach of the official circus act, a criminal offe nce. official circus act, a criminal offence. he denies it and is entitled to prove himself innocent. there are logical conclusions of the prime minister, allegations that t

gavin williamson _ made the decision. thank you very much. gavin williamson denies - much.the uk were asked to vote on whether to strike over pay, in the first such ballot in the history of the union. the walkout could take place before christmas as our health correspondent catherine burns explains. extra hours, the unpaid hours, the leaving late. it has made the job a lot harder. rachel says she has to do at least one extra nursing shift a week to make ends meet. she can't quite believe it's come to this, but has voted to strike. strike is not about causing carnage and mayhem. this is withdrawing our labour to demonstrate exactly what it is that we do on a day—to—day basis under the conditions that we have to do. nurses would quite happily not strike if the government had listened to our unions and to nurses that are working day in and day out to provide the high quality care that they do provide under some of the most extreme conditions. the main reason behind this is pay. the royal college of nursing says for most nurses, pay has fallen by at least 15% in real terms sinc

so what did you make of gavin williamson? i i you make of gavin williamson?williamson will be surprised that he's no longer in that role to live. i think even he would accept that there were a number of mistakes while she was at the department for education that were very costly. i think he had overtime lost the trust of not only teachers but also parents, unfortunately. i think that's just a fact. and therefore in terms of how the government now needs to get education back on track and when that trust back up teachers and parents crucially. clearly there was a need to have a fresh face at the department. we will see whether they're going to be more changes in ministerial race in the next day or so. but i think that borisjohnson is right, the reshuffling his team to get the people he wants in those crucial roles that will either make or break whether his government is able to deliver on this promise of leveling up. able to deliver on this promise of leveling um— able to deliver on this promise of levelin: u. , ., , , leveling up. yes housing communities in lo

downing street said the first time the prime minister saw sir gavin williamson's text was on a sunday their content and acceptable. at number ten won't comment further while the conservative party is looking into the official complaint against sir gavin. —— but number ten would comment further. the other parties are not holding back. the liberal democrats have called for him to be sacked, and the labour party say the issue here isn't gavin william's judgment, party say the issue here isn't gavin william'sjudgment, it is rishi sunak�*s. rishi sunak was making decisions simply— rishi sunak was making decisions simply in — rishi sunak was making decisions simply in his own narrow, short—term interest_ simply in his own narrow, short—term interest as _ simply in his own narrow, short—term interest as far— simply in his own narrow, short—term interest as far as the conservative party— interest as far as the conservative party leadership was concerned, not the national interest. the _ the national interest. the prime minister has also faced criticism for bringing suella braverman back to th

about gavin williamson. his“isgt this is, the paper is revealing that gavin williamson sent some texts the education secretary during _ chief whip. he was the education secretary during covid _ chief whip. he was the education secretary during covid and - chief whip. he was the education secretary during covid and camel chief whip. he was the education | secretary during covid and came in for a lot of criticism and was moved on. r ., , ., ,., for a lot of criticism and was moved on. _ for a lot of criticism and was moved on. r _ on. and he was also fired by theresa ma for a on. and he was also fired by theresa may for a security — on. and he was also fired by theresa may for a security breach _ on. and he was also fired by theresa may for a security breach when - on. and he was also fired by theresa may for a security breach when he i may for a security breach when he was a cabinet minister. but on this occasion he was accusing wendy morton of stopping him going to the funeral of the queen and wendy morton says that was not true at all. but what is most interesting about this is now t

denied that the prime minister rishi sunak knew details of bullying allegations against sir gavin williamsond that sir gavin regretted the texts he sent to a colleague, and that they were not acceptable. but he insisted the prime minister had not seen the details. 0ur political correspondent david wallace lockhart gave me more details. gavin williamson is, of course, former defence secretary, former education secretary, was sacked by borisjohnson but he returned to government when rishi sunak became prime minister. he is now a minister in the cabinet office. the sunday times has obtained texts he sent to a woman, wendy morton, who was then the chief whip, in charge of party management when liz truss was prime minister shortly after the queen died. in it, gavin williamson appears to be upset he is not getting any of the government's allocation to funeral tickets to go to the funeral, he accuses wendy morton of rigging that allocation. in a series of texts that the sunday times got hold of, he warns wendy morton not to push him about, he says there is a price for everything, there are a few we

let's talk about gavin williamson. let's start with how it is reported in the time. he will have his revenge for being sacked. —— pm warren williamson. he was so loyal at the start. yes. the former defence secretary gavin williamson is supposed to now start his plot for revenge back on the prime minister, quite dramatic language. he is extremely unhappy that he has been sacked, he will try to prove i think this is a leak has nothing to do with him, he will maybe try to do that in the commons with a statement, next week, it is quite funny to me because if he is trying to enact some revenge, i would imagine you need quite a lot of allies around and political friends. i'm not entirely sure gavin has a big network. although there are some quite dramatic language you here, a source basically saying gavin knows where the bodies are buried because he buried them himself. that is a reference to the fact he was the chief web and somebody the prime minister relied on very much and did a lot of work on her behalf. —— chief a whip. maybe he has allies out there he can pull favour

gavin williamson insists he didn't do it.orkshire, as they have to contend with bad weather and protestors. coming up on sportsday on bbc news: england captain eoin morgan says alex hales is out of the cricket world cup squad because of a complete breakdown in trust. hales was reportedly withdrawn for testing positive for recreational drugs. #we # we shall live in peace # we shall live in peace #we # we shall live in peace # we shall live in peace # the spectre of an old conflict still haunts this city. now, derry is trying to heal new wounds. the violence which led to the death of lyra mckee was orchestrated by so—called dissident republicans. they see themselves as part of a decades—old struggle against british rule in northern ireland. i would just say to them, lay down your arms. stop the whole thing. i would hope that they would take that on board. and this is the public face of modern day dissidents, a legal political party known as saoradh, irish for liberation, who oppose northern ireland's peace process. police say s

the prime minister has sacked the defence secretary, gavin williamson, accusing him of leaking informationa meeting of the national security council last week. theresa may said in a letter to mr williamson that she had compelling evidence that he was responsible for the leak, and that she had lost confidence in his ability to serve. an enquiry into the leak was launched after information was printed in a national newspaperfrom secret discussions about the chinese firm huawei's involvement in the development of the uk's five g mobile network. mr williamson has strenuously denied he leaked the information. he has been replaced by the international development secretary, penny mordaunt. our political editor has more. it wasn't me, he said. absolutely not. and then again and again, the defence secretary adamant he had nothing to do with leaking week, theresa may wanted gavin williamson out, sacking him in her commons office this afternoon, and writing in a brutal letter tonight... but gavin williamson is sticking to his story. the now—former defence secretary was one of several ministers who h

the prime minister has sacked the defence secretary gavin williamson, accusing him of leaking information from a meeting of the national security council last week. theresa may said in a letter to mr williamson that she had compelling evidence that he was responsible for the leak, and that she'd lost confidence in his ability to serve. an inquiry into the leak was launched after information was printed in a national newspaper from secret discussions about the chinese firm huawei's involvement in the development of the uk's 56 mobile network. mr williamson has strenuously denied he leaked the information. he's been replaced by the international development secretary penny mordaunt. our political editor laura kuenssberg is in westminster. a dramatic night at westminster, even by recent standards? it takes a lot to shock people in westminster, but last week there was genuine surprise and horror among some in government at the leak of conversations from the national security council, not because leaks never happen, we are used to them, but because of the nature of the conversations that were

police over the leak from the national security council which led to the defence secretary, gavin williamsonsacked last night. labour want a criminal investigation into whether the leak was a breach of the official secrets act. mr williamson has strongly denied being the source of newspaper reports about the potential involvement of the chinese firm huawei in the uk's 5g mobile network. he says he's been the victim of a "kangaroo court". here's our political correspondent, ben wright. welcoming the leader of iceland to number ten this morning, a day after dispatching her defence secretary in one of the most extraordinary ministerial sackings of recent years. prime minister, did you get the wrong man? she told gavin williamson there was compelling evidence he was behind an unprecedented leak of secret information from the national security council last week about the chinese firm huawei's potential involvement in the uk's 5g network, but before his sacking mr williamson denied any involvement in the leak. are you or any of your officials behind the huawei. .. absolutely not. he has continued

on the same day he brought his ally sir gavin williamson back into government, 2a hours after he was acing a potentially serious complaint about his behaviour. he sent wendy morton, a senior member of liz truss's government, a series of texts complaining, in no uncertain terms, about the treatment of mps who had not backed the truss leadership campaign. even accusing her of rigging the ticket allocations to the queen's funeral, something she denies. a number of his messages contain expletives. he warns, "there is a price for everything". that is not acceptable, he should not have said it. he has said he regrets doing so. he has given... so what is the consequence for him? he has given some context that this was at a time of heightened frustration. downing street said the first time the prime minister saw sir gavin williamson's texts was in a sunday newspaper and, yes, rishi sunakfound the content unacceptable. but number 10 won't comment further while the conservative party is looking into the official complaint against sir gavin. rishi sunak was already facing criticism for bringing

gavin williamson has said there will be no u-turns.the first minister in scotland and our government, who seem so unable to read the atmosphere. never admit they're wrong. the mistakes that we re they're wrong. the mistakes that were made with covid, they blame it i'iow were made with covid, they blame it now on were made with covid, they blame it now on the scientists. gavin williamson, not in my view, a man who should ever be a minister or secretary of state, is now deciding that what happened was right, that board members on quual are saying step back, think again, let's go back to teacher assessments. teachers know the pupils. this is an extraordinary year. let'sjust teachers know the pupils. this is an extraordinary year. let's just deal with it. the numbers are even higher with it. the numbers are even higher with gcs he's coming up. the chaos is going to be greater. —— gcses. i feel so bad for all these pupils having to go through all this. andy, are you surprised borisjohnson has remained silent so far? he's made a public state

is very close _ because gavin williamson is very close to — because gavin williamson is very close toe that he _ close to rishi sunak in the sense that he supported his leadership hed~ _ that he supported his leadership hed~ he — that he supported his leadership bed. he was chief with, so he knows where _ bed. he was chief with, so he knows where bodies are buried. civil servants— where bodies are buried. civil servants committees or allegations, if these _ servants committees or allegations, if these are — servants committees or allegations, if these are true, they could've made — if these are true, they could've made a — if these are true, they could've made a formal complaint at the time, they want— made a formal complaint at the time, they want to — made a formal complaint at the time, they want to make a formal complaint now, they want to make a formal complaint now. they— they want to make a formal complaint now, they should, they should be investigated properly. the bigger question— investigated properly. the bigger question for me is is there a culture _ question for me is is

gavin williamson _ be? yes, absolutely. gavin williamson is _ be? yes, absolutely.is one of four i be? yes, absolutely. gavin - williamson is one of four former william5on is one of four former chief witne55 william5on is one of four former chief witness who is helping ri5hi sunak, a signal i suppose of really organi5ing sunak, a signal i suppose of really organising the campaign 5o sunak, a signal i suppose of really organising the campaign so far. but gavin william5on al5o memorable becau5e gavin william5on al5o memorable because when he was chief whip, he used to have a pet 5pider that he kept on his desk. he has this kind of air to him of 5ophi5try, a mystery, 5omebody of air to him of 5ophi5try, a mystery, somebody that really kind my5tery, somebody that really kind of under5tand5 my5tery, somebody that really kind of understands the dark art5 my5tery, somebody that really kind of understands the dark arts of parliament and what we mean by that really is the kind of political gain5 really is the kind of political gains to probably get one in the background. now

gavin williamson, messages emerged over the weekend of gavin williamson texting wendy martin, who wase way seats had been dished out for the queen's funeral, there was a lot of swear words in there, a lot of anger from there was a lot of swear words in there, a lot of angerfrom mr williamson, some people think there were some implicit threats when he said there was a price for everything that miss martin was doing, and there have been those questions over whether that was appropriate conduct, clearly a lot of people think that that was not appropriate, and the question the prime minister is now facing is whether he should have acted on those warnings he was given about mr williamson's conduct, and if you add into the mix what we've heard about the reappointment of the home secretary, given her e—mail use, the use of private e—mail accounts to send official government business and those questions about whether she did enough to make sure the government was complying with the law when it came to rehousing asylum seekers and migrants, it does just add up to this picture which is pretty u

, when _ the first comment, gavin williamson, when we _ the first comment, gavin williamson, when weears ago, told the russians to id few years ago, told the russians to go away— few years ago, told the russians to go away and shut up. when he was a defence _ go away and shut up. when he was a defence secretary, which was quite ill defence secretary, which was quite iii advised — defence secretary, which was quite ill advised and did not make sense to n1any— ill advised and did not make sense to many people who are in government, including myself. this is about— government, including myself. this is about dominic raab being on holiday— is about dominic raab being on holiday when the taliban overran afghanistan. so, pointing back to the idea— afghanistan. so, pointing back to the idea of— afghanistan. so, pointing back to the idea of are these the right people? — the idea of are these the right people? are these the people we want in these _ people? are these the people we want in these jobs? i think the other point _ in these jobs? i think the other point to— in these jobs? i think t

dependent on which side you listen to, it seems that gavin williamson thinks the chancellor wa nts to down to 50,000. the wants to cut the army down to 50 , 000. the chancellor says wants to cut the army down to 50,000. the chancellor says he doesn't want to do this at all. we then get insults thrown both ways. they went toe to toe in the commons. it sounds like dancing. the chancellor calls gavin williamson... i don't think it is the chancellor, i think it is people in his department. this is his description of him. pike as in dad's army. the stupid boy. we have this full—scale i’ow stupid boy. we have this full—scale row and the backdrop to this, of course, is whether or not gavin williamson is thinking in terms of succeeding theresa may when she finally goes. well! and neat segue. simon walters, political editor of the mail on sunday has actually done exactly this and point out the remarkable similarity between the gavin williamson's meteoric rise into the cabinet to that is john major in 1990. then you had margaret thatcher with the blonde bombshell michael heseltine seen as her n

against gavin williamson. ~ , . f is ongoing, and i - williamson. well, the complaint itself is ongoing, and i don't - williamson. well, the complaint i itself is ongoing, and i don't think itself is ongoing, and i don't think it would be appropriate for me to prejudge that. it would be appropriate for me to prejudge that-— it would be appropriate for me to prejudge that. hang on, minister, what is to prejudge? _ prejudge that. hang on, minister, what is to prejudge? we - prejudge that. hang on, minister, what is to prejudge? we have - prejudge that. hang on, minister, what is to prejudge? we have all| what is to prejudge? we have all seen the text, there is no dispute, gavin williamson has said he shouldn't have done it. i don't think viewers will think this morning that there has to be a big investigation. he did something he shouldn't have done that was obviously very unpleasant for the person who received those text messages, the prime minister knew there was a complaint about him bullying people and he gave him

so it is no good for the prime minister, hanging gavin williamson out to dry, and mr williamson out toying to shake the blame onto the regulator when you have a command and control downing street like we have at the moment, the prime minister ultimately must take responsibility. and it is significant that he's kept a very, very low profile. he is supposed to be on holiday, but prime ministers are never really on holiday. be on holiday, but prime ministers are never really on holidaylj realise are never really on holiday.” realise that the picture was outside the department for education after the department for education after the news was announced. interesting also, the guardian picking up that the government is now lifting the cap on english university admissions. so despite all the inconvenience and the trauma of this and the pandemic, i suppose the good thing is they can lift the cap because a lot of other foreign stu d e nts because a lot of other foreign students won't be coming to study this year in the uk, so the capacity might well be there. that's true, but there's also a bi

gavin williamson making a speech as pa rt gavin williamson making a speech as part of his wider plan.s into their story about what is happening with russia. i guess it is the time to strike when this is happening.- ask for more money. this was on the grid, but interesting where it has gone. to be fair to gavin williamson, last month, he said, russia is a huge threat. cyber plots all the time. everybody said, what is he on? but look what has happened. it does add to the feeling that as crises occur, what takes precedence is the internal machinations of the conservative party. the daily express, this is the headline, the case of nikolai glushkov, found dead in kingston, london, this week, so suggestion of foul play. but talking to people today, they say there is no evidence of that, but the counterterrorism police had been brought in to look at it which is quite significant. this goes to the idea of a hit list. we will get onto this with labour. the idea of the evidence. the nerve agent used as a calling card to say, if you mess with us, putin is saying, if you betray russia, you will c

our top story: the british defence secretary, gavin williamson, has been sacked over information leaked minister, theresa may, said there was compelling evidence that he was responsible for the disclosures. mr williamson has strenuously denied any involvement. there has been a second day of protests on the streets of venezuela, after president nicholas maduro claimed to have defeated an attempted coup. and this video is trending on bbc.com. these two seagulls have become an unlikely internet sensation after photo—bombing one of the cameras used to monitor traffic in central london. nicknamed graham and steve, they have taken up residence on one of the key routes into the central financial district. that's all. stay with bbc world news.

gavin williamson. not sustainable for mr _ that be? gavin williamson. amson l that be? gavin williamson. not| sustainable for mr williamson to stay at the department for education. i think we need a reshuffle after the summer recess? spending review. aha, reshuffle after the summer recess? spending review.— reshuffle after the summer recess? spending review. a supporter of get eo - le in spending review. a supporter of get people in line. _ spending review. a supporter of get people in line, focus _ spending review. a supporter of get people in line, focus minds. - spending review. a supporter of get people in line, focus minds. talkingj people in line, focus minds. talking about a reshuffle. he then repeats another message saying it is going to be turbulent but we need a path through it. the message from boris johnson saying he agrees but it is fatal, it will be fatal to brief the cabinet about the upcoming reshuffle. and then a longer message from dominic cummings emphasising the position and perhaps, and i am going to ask about this, giving us some cl

after gavin williamson was sacked. the daily mail reports of the former defence secretary swore on his children's lives that he was not responsible for the leak about the chinese firm, while way. facing a criminal investigation over claims the exposed classified information. they also report on the us attorney general hitting back a criticism of his handling of the investigation. and princess charlotte turns four. images caught by her mother on the daily express. there will be no argument as to where we start, other we started the evening, i think you we re we started the evening, i think you were at westminster talk more with all your in for were at westminster talk more with all your infora were at westminster talk more with all your in for a fairly quiet evening, at six o'clock it all went crazy in the daily mail sums it up. theresa may, you're fired, gavin williamson, i didn't do it. the standoff that has resulted in him going. she was, we thought it was this possible deal with labour and the customs union all the

that complaint was made because gavin williamson was given a cabinet job because gavin williamson wasen a cabinetjob by rishi sunak when rishi sunak became prime minister. gavin williamson eventually quit, he denied bullying but he quit saying that he had become a distraction to the government. there was a complaint then looked at by a panel of experts appointed by parliament and they have decided today that yes, gavin williamson was guilty of bullying, that his messages were an abuse of power, they were intimidating and that he should apologise to the house of commons for those messages and should undergo training. i have spoken to wendy morton within the past hour, she says that she is pleased that this process is now done, it has been a bit of a roller—coaster. we have not heard from gavin williamson yet in response to this but he has been ordered as i say to make an apology to parliament and i think again, this is another one that the government will face questions on. because cast your mind back to when rishi sunak became prime minister, he promised integrity and professionalism

sir gavin williamson was sacked by borisjohnson sir gavin williamson was sacked by boris johnson lastd by borisjohnson last year. rishi sunak made him a minister again this month, the same day the prime minister promised... month, the same day the prime minister promised. . ._ minister promised... integrity. professionalism, _ minister promised... integrity. professionalism, and - minister promised... integrity. - professionalism, and accountability. but we now know that rishi sunak was aware that sir gavin was subject of aware that sir gavin was subject of a complaint from wendy morton. gavin williamson texted her: he warned her there is a price for everything. today, gavin williamson's departmental boss said sir gavin regretted the messages he sent. ., , sir gavin regretted the messages he sent. . , ., , sent. that is not acceptable, he shouldn't have _ sent. that is not acceptable, he shouldn't have said _ sent. that is not acceptable, he shouldn't have said it. - sent. that is not acceptable, he shouldn't have said it. he - sent. that is not acceptable, he shouldn't have said it.

gavin williamson is has a lwa ys offence.amson is has always denied being the leaker, but he put out a really punchy statement saying that there needed to be a proper investigation, describing it asa proper investigation, describing it as a shabby witchhunt, badly mishandled by both the prime minister and by the head of the civil service. in short, there is clearly a difference between evidence of a crime being committed, 01’ evidence of a crime being committed, or not, and a boss, the prime minister, losing trust in an employee, gavin williamson, and that loss of trust was clear last week with his firing. but mr william again providing evidence today, he is not going quietly. a 17—year—old boy has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a teenage girl in wiltshire. the victim, who's not been named, died at a property in calne yesterday afternoon. police say they will have a "significa nt presence" in the town over the weekend as inquiries continue. india has been praised for its rapid evacuation of more than a million people

is a gavin williamson?hem. this get made. wrong policy decisions get made, we saw it in scotla nd decisions get made, we saw it in scotland book and how the scottish government dealt with that compared to the uk government. as i say, they tried to dig in, they try to defend the indefensible and indefensible was this, that working—class kids and those from game communities, they were going to our them to be discriminated against for some —— from bame communities they also in my few left an impression that they don't touch the teaching profession. they all them all on apology but they also need to set out how they are going to rebuild trust amongst teachers, parents and of course students. andy burnham, we must leave it there. former shadow education secretary for labour and mayor of manchester. lovely to talk to you, thanks. let's get some more put a correction to the government pots i change in policy from the liberal democrats spokesperson for education, leila moran and thank you for joining education, lei

education secretary gavin williamson leading tonight's number ten briefing.— gavin williamson leadingonight's number ten briefing. vaccines are at the heart of — number ten briefing. vaccines are at the heart of the _ number ten briefing. vaccines are at the heart of the government - number ten briefing. vaccines are at the heart of the government strategy to manage covid—19. as of today, 18,242,873 to manage covid—19. as of today, 18,210,873 people have been vaccinated across the uk, and 18th in million 911,978 doses have been given overall. since yesterday, 9938 people are reported to have tested positive for coronavirus. as of the 22nd of february 2021, 16,803 people were in hospital with coronavirus. that's down 20% from the week before. sadly, of those who have tested positive for coronavirus, across all settings, 121,747 are reported to have now died. that's an increase of 442 fatalities since yesterday. our thoughts are very much with the families of those who have lost loved ones to this virus. on monday, the prime minister outlined the road map out of lockdown and gave us the