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Gavin Williamson Quits Over Bullying Allegations

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Gavin Williamson has resigned from Rishi Sunak’s cabinet amid a series of bullying allegations against him, saying he was “becoming a distraction for the good work this government is doing”.

Williamson, who was promoted to Cabinet Office minister when Sunak became prime minister, was under renewed pressure following reports in The Guardian that he told a ministry of defence official to “slit your throat”.

The Tory party and parliament’s bullying watchdog are also looking into allegations made by former chief whip Wendy Morton.

Williamson was previously sacked as defence secretary for leaking from the National Security Council, and fired as education secretary over A-level exam chaos.

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

In his resignation letter, Williamson told Sunak: “As you know, there is an ongoing complaints process concerning text messages I sent to a colleague.

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

“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 underway and clear my name of any wrongdoing.”

The decision to quit follows allegations he sent expletive-laden messages to 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.

In his response, 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 Williamson “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”.

Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the Labour Party, said: “This is a damning reflection of a weak prime minister. Rishi 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 Sunak’s 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.

“As families struggle during a cost of living crisis made in Downing Street, yet another Tory government has descended into chaos.”

Williamson, who was knighted after being nominated for the honour by Boris Johnson earlier this year, is a divisive figure at Westminster, where he is viewed with suspicion by many Tory MPs because of his reputation as an inveterate plotter.

He was sacked first by former PM Theresa May as defence secretary in 2019 for leaking details of a National Security Council meeting, and then by Johnson as education secretary over the Covid-19 A-levels debacle.

However, he was regarded as a key figure in Sunak’s campaign over the summer to become party leader and his departure will be embarrassing for the prime minister.

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What Could The Results Of The US Midterm Elections Mean For Donald Trump?

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Donald Trump does not appear on the ballot paper at the US midterm elections, but the ex-president still looms large.

Rejected by the American public two years, the TV star-turned-politician has been fully embraced by the Republican Party – or at least the Trump playback has become gospel for hundreds of candidates hoping for victory.

Since his fingerprints are everywhere, the elections for the US House of Representatives and the Senate will be interpreted by many as referendum on Trump-ism – and could play a decisive role in whether Trump is the Republican presidential candidate in 2024.

What has he said?

While he is yet say officially, Trump has as near-as-dammit indicated a third presidential run is on.

“I’m going to be making a very big announcement on Tuesday, November 15 at Mar-a-Lago,” Trump said in Ohio on Monday night, where he was holding yet another rally of the midterm season.

Trump explained that he wanted “nothing to detract from the importance of tomorrow”, even after he had sparked a frantic effort to hold him off after he had told people he was considering officially launching his next campaign at the rally.

Trump has been increasingly explicit about his plans to seek another term, saying in recent days that he would “very, very, very probably” run again and would be formalising his intentions “very, very soon”.

“I will probably have to do it again but stay tuned,” he said on Sunday night in Miami. “Stay tuned to tomorrow night in the great state of Ohio.”

Could the midterms derail his plans?

The Republicans are expected to do well at the polls for many reasons that have nothing to do with Trump or his positions.

Midterm elections – half-way through the US president’s four-year term in office – typically see the party that holds the White House getting a roasting: see Barack Obama losing the House midway through his first term, and the same happening to Trump in 2018.

Democrats under Joe Biden are also hamstrung by the president’s low approval ratings, fuelled by voter concerns over economy and inflation, even if these have been caused by global factors such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Republicans are the favourites to win the House, and they need to pick up just one seat to gain control of the Senate. So given his influence over the slate of candidates put forward by the Republicans, Trump could face being blamed if the elections do not got well (and, by the same token, big victories would be a major fillip for the Trump political brand).

<img class="img-sized__img landscape" loading="lazy" alt="Donald Trump and Republican candidate for US Senate JD Vance during the rally at the Dayton International Airport.” width=”720″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.wellnessmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/what-could-the-results-of-the-us-midterm-elections-mean-for-donald-trump-3.jpg”>
Donald Trump and Republican candidate for US Senate JD Vance during the rally at the Dayton International Airport.

Drew Angerer via Getty Images

How much influence does Trump wield?

The ex-president has endorsed nearly 300 candidates. Among them is JD Vance, an author, venture capitalist and one-time Trump critic. His decision to back Vance in the state’s hyper-competitive Senate primary vaulted the political newcomer to victory in a crowded Republican field.

Many who back Trump have embraced his American First positions, including his isolationist foreign policy and focus on immigration. In large part they have even taken up his “big lie” about fraud during the presidential vote in 2020. In a case where a GOP nominee has refused to spread the false claim – businessman Joe O’Dea in Colorado – Trump has attacked him, actively hurting both his campaign and Republican chances to win back the chamber.

Commentators point out the grip Trump has on thee party has saddled the GOP with relatively weak candidates in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia and New Hampshire – key states that could decide who holds either chamber.

In Georgia, Trump backed Herschel Walker, a former college football star, which drove away other potential candidates. Walker’s campaign has been dogged by questions about his turbulent personal life, including allegations of domestic violence from his ex-wife and, more recently, two women saying that Walker pressured them to have abortions during their relationships, allegations he has denied. His candidacy could now result in Democratic senator Rafael Warnock holding on to his seat with polls showing a tight race.

What else could stand in Trump’s way?

Trump is also facing a series of escalating legal challenges, including several investigations that could lead to indictments. They include the probe into hundreds of documents with classified markings that were seized by the FBI from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, as well as ongoing state and federal inquiries into his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

The House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol has also subpoenaed Trump and last month issued a letter to his lawyers saying he must testify, either at the Capitol or by videoconference, “beginning on or about” November 14 and continuing for multiple days if necessary.

<img class="img-sized__img landscape" loading="lazy" alt="Republican Florida governor Ron DeSantis speaks at a campaign rally in Orlando, Florida.” width=”720″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.wellnessmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/what-could-the-results-of-the-us-midterm-elections-mean-for-donald-trump-4.jpg”>
Republican Florida governor Ron DeSantis speaks at a campaign rally in Orlando, Florida.

Octavio Jones via Getty Images

And he remains a polarising figure. Trump, who has a history dating back to the 1980s of publicly toying with White House bids only to back down, could also still decide not to run if he fears he could lose either in the Republican primaries or the general election itself. Could his ego take another defeat?

Who else could run in 2024?

The 2024 campaign will effectively kick off when the polls close on November 8, and potential Republican challengers have spent months carefully laying the groundwork for their own expected campaigns.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis is widely seen as Trump’s most formidable challenger having honed his brand of competent Trump-ism. Former vice president Mike Pence will be releasing a book on the same day as the Trump announcement, which is seen as part of his own potential campaign rollout.

Texas senator Ted Cruz and Florida senator Rick Scott have been aggressively campaigning for midterm candidates, as has former UN ambassador Nikki Haley.

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Tory MP Mark Francois Slammed For Using ‘Crass Racial Slur’ In The Commons

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Tory MP Mark Francois has been strongly criticised for using a “crass racial slur” in the House of Commons.

Francois, a former minister and the MP for Rayleigh and Wickford, is under fire for his use of term “J***” in a defence debate on Monday.

Francois has subsequently said he meant “absolutely no disrespect or offence to anyone” by using the phrase.

Speaking in the Commons yesterday, Francois said: “Given the defence budget is likely to come under great pressure, why does it take BAE Systems 11 years to build a ship the J*** can build in four?”

Neither Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle nor defence secretary Ben Wallace subsequently condemned the use of the term.

His remarks were strongly criticised by Labour MP Sarah Owen, the first MP of south-east Asian ancestry, who raised her objections in a point of order.

She accused Francois of using an “outdated and crass racial slur” and that his actions had fallen “well below the bar we should expect”.

Addressing Hoyle, Owen said: “Mr Speaker, you rightly and regularly remind us to use respectful language in this House, but unfortunately, this outdated and crass racial slur has fallen well below the bar we should expect.”

Following the criticism, Francois said in a statement: “I meant absolutely no disrespect or offence to anyone by using the phrase ‘Japs’, during defence questions in the House of Commons yesterday.

“I merely used it as an abbreviation for Japanese, as I had, by then, been asking an admittedly rather wordy question, about naval shipbuilding. Moreover, in the course of that same question, as the record clearly shows, I actually complimented the Japanese shipbuilding industry, for building warships much faster than here in Britain.”

In her point or order Owen also criticised environment minister and former chief whip Mark Spencer over his recent suggestion that “some little man in China” could be eavesdropping on his own private conversations in a debate about security.

She referred to a weekend article in the Times that asked why “there are only two MPs who identify as eastern south-east Asians in this place, despite making up 1.2 million of the country”.

“Perhaps it is comments like this by the member for Rayleigh and Wickford or ‘the little man in China’ trope trotted out by a government minister last week, or when the former leader of the House [Jacob Rees-Mogg] said the word ‘Yellow Peril’ from that despatch box,” Owen said.

Rees-Mogg subsequently apologised for his remarks, saying he did not know that what he had said was racist and that his use of the term was “out of ignorance”.

In response, Hoyle told Owen that “the casual use of racial terms causes upset and should not be used”.

“What I would say is Erskine May states that good temper and moderation are the characteristics of the parliamentary language and ask all members to remind themselves of that principle in choosing the words they use carefully.

“People reflect also the language that we use – if we set the best of language, therefore others might follow.”

A Labour source told HuffPost UK that Francois should apologise for his remarks.

“If there was ever any doubt, the nasty party is firmly back,” they said.

“While Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party are distracted by scandal after scandal, their MPs are bringing our parliament into disrepute by using derogatory, racist language in the chamber.

“Mark Francois may need reminding that it is 2022, not 1940. He should apologise for this language.”

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Camilla’s Queen Consort Cypher Is Revealed (Here’s What That Means)

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The Queen Consort’s new cypher has been revealed. And if you’re wondering what that means, it’s a monogram used to show Camilla’s official position.

The cypher will be used by the Queen Consort on personal letterheads, cards and gifts, as well as on the cross that she’ll lay at the Field of Remembrance on Thursday November 10.

The design incorporates the Queen Consort’s initial, ‘C’ for Camilla, and ‘R’ for Regina, – Latin for Queen. It sits alongside a representation of the Crown.

The cypher was selected personally by Camilla from a series of designs and will now become her personal property.

The Queen Consort’s official cypher.

Buckingham Palace

The Queen Consort’s official cypher.

The cypher was designed by Professor Ewan Clayton, a calligrapher on the Faculty and Academic Board of The Royal Drawing School, in collaboration with Timothy Noad, Herald Painter and Scrivener at The College of Arms.

Though you’ll catch the odd glimpse of the Queen Consort’s cypher, you’ll see the King’s official symbol far more frequently.

King Charles unveiled his chosen design in September and like Camilla’s, it includes the C for his first name and the letter R for Rex, the Latin name for King.

King Charles III's new cypher

Buckingham Palace via PA

King Charles III’s new cypher

In between these two letters is the Roman numeral for three (III) indicating that he is the third monarch in British history to be known as Charles, so it reads Charles Rex III.

Charles’ cypher will appear on government buildings, traditional police helmets, state documents and any post boxes built after his reign began.

It’s a slow process to make these changes, however, so you’re unlikely to see much of the two new cyphers ahead of Charles’ official coronation in May.

For now, you’ll continue to see the cypher of the late Queen Elizabeth II in many places across the country.

The official design, prepared at the College of Arms and approved by the Queen, for the Royal Cypher of Queen Elizabeth II.

PA Images via Getty Images

The official design, prepared at the College of Arms and approved by the Queen, for the Royal Cypher of Queen Elizabeth II.
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Rebel Wilson Reveals She’s Become A Mother As She Celebrates Birth Of Baby Girl

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Rebel Wilson has announced that she has become a mother after welcoming a baby girl.

The Pitch Perfect star shared a photo of the newborn – who was born last week, via a surrogate – on her Instagram page on Monday afternoon.

“Beyond proud to announce the birth of my first child, Royce Lillian, born this past week via surrogate,” Rebel told her followers.

“I can’t even describe the love I have for her, she’s a beautiful miracle!”

She continued: “I am forever grateful to everyone who has been involved, (you know who you are), this has been years in the making… but particularly wanted to thank my gorgeous surrogate who carried her and birthed her with such grace and care.

“Thank you for helping me start my own family, it’s an amazing gift. The BEST gift!! I am ready to give little Roycie all the love imaginable.”

The Australian actor added: “I am learning quickly…much respect to all the Mums out there! Proud to be in your club.”

The Bridesmaids received a wave of support from her celebrity friends after the announcement, with Taika Waititi – who directed Rebel in Jojo Rabbit – commenting: “Yes Rebz, congrats.”

Rebel is best known for her performance in comedy films like Bridesmaids, Isn’t It Romantic and the Pitch Perfect series, as well as the musical Cats.

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Lee Anderson Has Said Putting Asylum Seekers In Hotels Leaves A Bitter Taste In His Throat

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A Tory MP has said that placing migrants in temporary hotel accommodation “leaves a bitter taste in my throat” and called for them to be deported instead.

Lee Anderson also said asylum seekers arriving in the UK should be “sent back the same day”.

The Ashfield MP spoke out as the government continues to come under pressure over the situation at the Manston migrant processing centre in Kent.

At the peak of the crisis a week ago, around 4,000 people were held at the facility, which is designed to hold about 1,600.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick told the Commons that the situation had since improved, with numbers “back below 1,600” after more than 2,000 people were placed in temporary accommodation.

But Anderson said: “When I hear words like sourcing housing and getting extra hotel spaces for illegal immigrants, it leaves a bitter taste in my throat.

“And I’ll tell you what, I’ve got 5,000 people in Ashfield who want to secure council housing and they cannot get one. Yet, we’re here debating this nonsense once again. When are we going to stop blaming the French, the ECHR, the lefty lawyers?

“The blame lies in this place right now — when are we going to go back and do the right thing and send them straight back the same day?”

Jenrick responded by telling Anderson that while the UK should be “guided by our common desire for decency” it was “not right that migrants are put up in three or four-star hotels at exorbitant cost to the United Kingdom taxpayer”.

He said Rishi Sunak would meet with the French president Emmanuel Macron to reach an agreement on how to stem the flow of small boat crossings in the Channel.

Alistair Carmichael, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson, criticised Anderson’s remarks.

“We all want to stop these dangerous Channel crossings and defeat the criminal gangs who profit from them, but the Conservatives’ approach isn’t working and they blame everyone but themselves,” Carmichael told HuffPost UK.

“For years, Conservative MPs from Lee Anderson to the home secretary – and even the prime minister – have contributed nothing but alienating rhetoric and simplistic proposals that do nothing to solve the problem. This sort of unhelpful, expensive and callous nonsense has only made the problem worse.

“If Conservative MPs really want to deal with the asylum backlog and save taxpayers’ money, the need to focus on fixing the asylum system they have broken and processing claims for asylum more quickly.”

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Strictly Come Dancing Loses Ellie Simmonds After Yet Another Surprising Dance-Off

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Ellie Simmonds has become the sixth celebrity to be eliminated from this year’s series of Strictly Come Dancing.

Over the weekend, the Paralympic swimmer landed in the bottom two alongside CBBC presenter Molly Rainford, despite them being in fourth and third place on the leaderboard during Saturday night’s live show.

After the two stars performed their routines for the second time, the judging panel unanimously said that while they’d been impressed with both of them, they wanted to save Molly.

Molly Rainford dancing with her professional partner Carlos Gu
Molly Rainford dancing with her professional partner Carlos Gu

Guy Levy/BBC via PA Media

Reflecting on her time on the show, the gold medallist told Tess Daly: “I’ve literally had the time of my life. It’s been the most incredible experience – life changing really.”

She continued: “I’ve literally loved waking up every single day and dancing, I’m going to dance forever. It’s incredible, this show is life changing.”

Turning her attention to her dance partner Nikita Kuzmin, Ellie continued: “He’s changed my life. We’ve had the most amazing days. We’ve had not just dancing days – but days we’ve just spoken for hours.

“The confidence you’ve given me – I seem confident but you know what I’m like, I worry about everything so so much and we’ve literally represented everything.

“We went out there any danced our life out every single night and I loved it so much.”

Ellie and Nikita dancing the Charleston together
Ellie and Nikita dancing the Charleston together

Guy Levy/BBC via PA Media

A tearful Nikita then said: “I am a bit disappointed as I wanted Ellie to have a bit more time on this TV show, I know how much it means to her.

“I’m really happy that this journey has been with [Ellie], because she has taught me so so much, so much empathy. I’ve learnt so much in these seven weeks.”

“I love you Els,” he added. “I just want to tell you every single person in this room loves you.

“That is just to say how much of a beautiful human you are, you spend time to go to each person inside this room, you care about everybody, you are just such a wonderful human and I am so glad I’ve had the chance to dance with you.”

Nine Strictly couples now remain in the competition, with the next live show airing on Saturday night at 6.55pm on BBC One.

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Keir Starmer Criticised For Saying The NHS Is Recruiting ‘Too Many People From Overseas’

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Keir Starmer has been criticised for saying the NHS is recruiting too many people from overseas.

The Labour leader said “we should be training people in this country” as he set out his plans to control immigration.

But Starmer came under fire for his comments, with SNP MP Stewart McDonald accusing him of “grubby dog-whistling”.

Speaking to BBC Scotland, Starmer said: “What I would like to see is the numbers go down in some areas.

“I think we are recruiting too many people from overseas in, for example, the health service, but on the other hand if we need high-skilled people in innovation and tech to set up factories, etc, then I would encourage that, so I don’t think there’s an overall number here, some areas will need to go down, other areas will need to go up.”

At the Labour conference in Liverpool last month, the party leader unveiled plans to recruit 7,500 staff to the NHS across the UK.

Starmer added: “We should be training people in this country, of course we need some immigration but we need to train people in this country.

“What we’ve done – this is absolutely classic of this Tory government – is short-term fixes, plasters over problems, never a long-term solution and we’re going around and around in circles, every year we have a winter crisis.”

Responding to Starmer’s comments on Twitter, McDonald – the SNP’s defence spokesperson – accused the Labour leader of betraying the efforts of foreign NHS workers during the pandemic.

Meanehile, the pro-Jeremy Corbyn campaign group Momentum said Starmer was “out out of touch with the Labour party and the Labour movement”.

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Braverman And Williamson Appointments Make A Mockery Of Sunak’s ‘Integrity’ Pledge

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Rishi Sunak could not have been clearer on the day he became prime minister.

“This government will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level,” he declared on the steps of Number 10. “Trust is earned – and I will earn yours.”

Less than two weeks later, those lofty ideals have already been sacrificed at the altar of political expediency.

One of Sunak’s first actions as PM was to re-appoint Suella Braverman as home secretary, just six days after she was forced to resign by Liz Truss for breaking the ministerial code.

The widely-held belief at Westminster – not denied by Number 10 – is that the decision was part of a “grubby deal” to guarantee her support for Sunak’s Tory leadership bid at the expense of Boris Johnson.

So much for integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level.

And today, we have had it confirmed that Sunak knew of bullying allegations made against Gavin Williamson for former chief whip Wendy Morton before he made him Cabinet Office minister.

Like Braverman, Williamson supported Sunak’s election campaign and – just like the home secretary i was rewards with a seat round the cabinet table.

Despite the abusive nature of the text messages Williamson sent to Morton after he was blocked from attending the Queen’s funeral, Oliver Dowden this morning insisted that the prime minister retains full confidence in his colleague.

So much for integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level.

It is not surprising, however, that the PM’s actions have failed to match his rhetoric.

For all the talk of Tory unity, Sunak knows that he presides over a deeply divided party.

It will not have escaped his notice that Sir Jake Berry – a Johnson ally who Sunak sacked as party chairman – has made two deeply unhelpful interventions on both the Braverman and Sunak stories.

Meanwhile, Brandon Lewis, another minister who saw his cabinet career ended as soon as Sunak entered Number 10, chose today of all days to retweet a thread from June on why bullying should not be “an inevitable part of our political life”.

With his enemies lining up behind him, Sunak can ill-afford to lose two of his supporters so soon into his premiership.

That’s why he is resisting calls for Williamson to be sacked, at least for now.

But the rows have taken the sheen off the new PM, and only served to further prove that his No10 honeymoon is well and truly over.

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Britain To Be Given Bank Holiday For King Charles’ Coronation, Rishi Sunak Announces

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The country will enjoy an additional bank holiday on May 8 next year, two days after the ceremony takes place.

An extra bank holiday also took place when the King’s mother, Queen Elizabeth II, ascended to the throne in 1953.

It also follows the bank holiday which was held to mark the late Queen’s funeral in September.

The prime minister said: “The coronation of a new monarch is a unique moment for our country. In recognition of this historic occasion, I am pleased to announce an additional bank holiday for the whole United Kingdom next year.

“I look forward to seeing people come together to celebrate and pay tribute to King Charles III by taking part in local and national events across the country in his honour.”

Oliver Dowden, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said: “The coronation combines the sacred and the solemn but it is also celebratory.

“This bank holiday will once again give people across the United Kingdom the opportunity to come together as families and communities to welcome His Majesty to the throne as we mark this important day in our nation’s long history.”

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