Sunak says he ‘regrets’ appointing Cabinet minister ousted for bullying

LONDON British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, under fire for appointing to his Cabinet, Gavin Williamso

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, under fire for appointing to his Cabinet, Gavin Williamson, who is accused of “bullying” said he had regretted the decision. Mr. Williamson, a Minister of State without portfolio, resigned on Tuesday night after angry texts he sent former Conservative whip Wendy Morton, about not being invited to the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, became public over the weekend. Mr. Williamson faces a probe by the Conservative party following a complaint from Ms. Morton.

“I obviously regret appointing someone who has had to resign in the circumstances,” Mr Sunak said at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) in the British parliament on Wednesday, when questioned on the subject by leader of the Opposition (Labour) Keir Starmer. “But I think what the British people would like to know is that when situations like this arise, that they will be dealt with properly,” Mr. Sunak said.

Mr. Williamson has an alleged history of bullying. He is accused of asking a civil servant to slit their own throat and jump out of a window when he was U.K. Defence Secretary between November 2017 and May 2019.

Mr. Sunak had promised a government run on “integrity, professionalism and accountability”. The Prime Minister has also been under pressure for his re-appointment of Suella Braverman to the post of Home Secretary. Ms. Braverman had resigned from that position under the former Liz Truss government because she had breached security protocol while sending emails. She had also made controversial remarks about Britain’s colonial past and had said it was her “dream” and “obsession” to see flights taking U.K. asylum seekers to Rwanda. Her remarks on Indians being the largest group of visa overstayers had complicated the U.K.-India trade deal talks in the run-up to a Deepavali (October 24) deadline, by when an agreement was meant to have been finalised. Ms. Braverman had lent her support to Mr. Sunak when the latter had made a second bid for No.10 Downing Street in October and Mr. Sunak had re-appointed Ms. Braverman to her old position.

“It’s a pattern with this Prime Minister,” Mr. Starmer said in parliament on Wednesday. “Too weak to sack the security threat that sat around the Cabinet table [ i.e., Ms Braverman]. Too weak to take part in a leadership contest after he lost the first one. Too weak to stand up for working people,” he said.