UK PM Rishi Sunak under pressure as minister resigns amid bullying row

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is facing pressure from the Opposition on Wednesday as one of his close allies and embattled ministers resigned from the Cabinet pending an investigation into allegations of bullying against himSir Gavin Williamson who was minister of state without portfolio as of yet was accused of abusive behaviour towards fellow Conservative Party colleagues and civil servants after which he posted his resignation on TwitterSunak said he accepted Williamsons resignation with great sadness and thanked him for his personal support and loyaltyYour commitment to successive Conservative governments and the party over the years has been unwavering he saidHowever the Opposition has branded the episode as a sign of poor judgement and leadership by Sunak and Labour Party Leader Sir Keir Starmer will use the weekly Prime Ministers Questions PMQs in the House of Commons to pile on further pressure over the issueAlso Read Maha to enter highly vulnerable red zone for aerosol pollution in 2023The row over Williamsons conduct has been brewing since the weekend with reports that outgoing Conservative Party chairman Jake Berry told the newlyappointed Prime Minister about the iquestbullyingiquest complaint against Williamson on October 24 a day before his appointment to the Sunak CabinetDowning Street has maintained the new Prime Minister knew there was a disagreement but that he didnt know the substance of the messages until they were published by The Sunday Times newspaperThis is a damning reflection of a weak Prime Minister said Labours deputy leader Angela RaynerRishi Sunak appointed Gavin Williamson with full knowledge of serious allegations about his conduct and repeatedly expressed confidence in him This is yet another example of Rishi Sunaks poor judgement and weak leadership It is clear that he is trapped by the grubby backroom deals he made to dodge a vote and is incapable of putting country before party she saidThe reference to iquestyet anotheriquest is to the reappointed Suella Braverman as UK Home Secretary just weeks after she was forced to resign for breaking ministerial rules by sending an official document from her personal emailThe Opposition has branded it a sign of an internal agreement to ensure the support of her Tory wing for his position as Prime MinisterRishi Sunak has serious questions to answer about why he appointed Gavin Williamson then stood by him instead of sacking him His promise to lead a government of integrity has now been left in tatters said Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy CooperWilliamson is believed to have been instrumental in working behind the scenes to dissuade Boris Johnson from contesting in the leadership election against Sunak in the days after Liz Truss resigned as prime minister last monthRefuting the allegations Williamson in his resignation letter said he refutes the characterisation of the claims about his past conduct but felt they had become a distraction from the good work the government is doingIt referred to some expletiveladen text messages he reportedly sent to the former Tory party whip Wendy Morton over being overlooked during Queen Elizabeth IIs funeralThese were published in The Sunday Times and since then others have come forward to allege iquestintimidatingiquest behaviour while Williamson was a Cabinet minister under previous prime ministersHe has since been reported to the parliamentary bullying watchdog the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme and says he has apologised to the recipient of the text messages and would comply with the complaints process to clear my name of any wrongdoingMeanwhile for Gavin Williamson this marks the third time he has been forced out of the CabinetIn 2019 he was sacked as defence secretary by then Prime Minister Theresa May after allegedly leaking sensitive informationLater that year he was made education secretary by Boris Johnson but in 2021 was removed over his handling of exams during the COVID pandemicThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever