Gavin Williamson quits Cabinet over text message claims

The former Cabinet Office minister said he had decided to “step back from government” while the complaints process into his conduct is carried out, vowing to “clear my name of any wrongdoing”.

The decision to quit follows allegations he sent expletive-laden messages to former chief whip Wendy Morton complaining about being refused an invitation to the Queen’s funeral, claims he bullied a former official at the Ministry of Defence and an accusation of “unethical and immoral” behaviour while he was chief whip.

Sir Gavin said there was an ongoing complaints process “concerning text messages I sent to a colleague” – a reference to Ms Morton’s complaint.

“I am complying with this process and I have apologised to the recipient for those messages,” he said.

“Since then, there have been other allegations made about my past conduct. 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.

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

Sir Gavin quit following a meeting with the prime minister yesterday evening.

In his response, Mr Sunak said he was accepting the resignation “with great sadness”, but “I support your decision to step back and understand why you have done it”.

He told Sir Gavin “I would like to thank you for your personal support and loyalty” and expressed his “gratitude for the work you have done for this government”.

The flurry of accusations against Sir Gavin had triggered a series of investigations by the Tory party, the Commons bullying watchdog and an informal fact-finding exercise by No 10.

His resignation came just hours after Downing Street insisted Mr Sunak still had full confidence in the minister.

Mr Sunak will face MPs at Prime Minister’s Questions today and Sir Gavin’s decision to resign could help him avoid some of the inevitable attacks coming his way.