Gavin Williamson ordered to apologise over bullying texts to Wendy Morton

Former cabinet minister Sir Gavin Williamson has been told to apologise after a parliamentary inquiry found he had bullied a colleague in texts.

Sir Gavin quit as a minister last year after sending expletive-laden texts to former Tory chief whip Wendy Morton.

In the texts, Sir Gavin accused Ms Morton of excluding some MPs from the Queen’s funeral in September last year.

He sent the texts in the run-up to the funeral and Ms Morton lodged a complaint with Parliament in November.

Opposition parties have questioned why Mr Sunak appointed Sir Gavin as a minister in October last year, after being told about Ms Morton’s complaint.

In a report published on Monday, an independent panel commissioned by Parliament found Sir Gavin committed a breach of the bullying and harassment policy.

It concluded that Sir Gavin’s conduct was an abuse of power, finding that it had gone beyond vigorous complaint or political disagreement to a threat to lever his power and authority as a former chief whip to undermine Ms Morton personally.

The Independent Expert Panel (IEP) has required him to make an apology in the House of Commons and undergo training.

Sir Gavin accepted this decision, but has always denied the texts amounted to bullying, or an abuse of power.

Ms Morton – a close ally of former Prime Minister Liz Truss – told the BBC she was “satisfied” with the outcome of the investigation.

She said: ” It has taken a long time. It’s felt like a rollercoaster.”

Ms Morton complained to the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme, the parliamentary watchdog responsible for investigating complaints of inappropriate behaviour against MPs.

Ms Morton alleged that, in September and October 2022, Sir Gavin behaved in a threatening, intimidating and undermining way in text messages and a phone call.

The IEP’s report said Sir Gavin sent Ms Morton text messages after he did not receive an invitation to the Queen’s funeral.

In the texts, Sir Gavin appears to have complained that MPs who were not “favoured” by then-Prime Minister Ms Truss were being excluded from the ceremony at Westminster Abbey.

In one text, Sir Gavin warned Ms Morton “there is a price for everything”, that excluding MPs was “very stupid”, also saying: “Also don’t forget I know how this works so don’t puss [sic] me about”.

In an initial investigation, the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme concluded that Sir Gavin was in breach of Parliament’s bullying and harassment policy.

Then, in a review of that finding, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Daniel Greenberg, had cleared Sir Gavin of the charge that his conduct amounted to bullying or harassment.

But this year, the IEP upheld an appeal against the decision by Ms Morton.

The panel agreed that the commissioner’s decision was “unreasonable” and concluded that Sir Gavin’s messages were an abuse of power.

The panel’s report said: “The complainant’s perception that this was bullying was reasonable, and the commissioner’s finding that instead the texts were an ‘unprofessional expression of anger’ went ‘against the weight of the evidence and is not supported by any explanation’.”

The panel said it had “considered carefully” whether Sir Gavin should face suspension from the Commons, but had instead decided a “full and unreserved apology” was required.

Ms Morton lost her job in the reshuffle when Mr Sunak came to power, while Sir Gavin – a former chief whip and education secretary – returned to government.

Sir Gavin, who has been sacked as a minister by three prime ministers, bowed to pressure to resign last November after a series of allegations against him built up.

Sir Gavin was defence secretary in Theresa May’s government but was sacked in 2019 over claims – denied by him – that he had leaked details of a national security council meeting. He then became education secretary in Boris Johnson’s cabinet but was replaced after two years.

He remains a backbench Conservative MP for South Staffordshire.