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A text message showing former Education Secretary Sir Gavin Williamson blaming teachers’ unions during the pandemic proves Conservative lawmakers are ‘weird guys’, says a fellow ex-secretary. the secretary of education said.
Sir Gavin went wild yesterday as a leaked text exchange between him and former Health Secretary Matt Hancock showed the pair explaining they found an “excuse” for teachers not working during the Covid crisis. Did.
In the October 2020 WhatsApp exchange, it was first reported that telegraph, Hancock said in an email to a colleague:
A fellow former education secretary, who requested anonymity, said: I: “The message shows that Gavin is a weird guy. He’s proven it time and time again.”
Sir Gavin has faced harsh criticism for his handling of the Covid crisis in schools, including a debacle over school exams and a series of U-turns on the government’s free school meals policy.
He was dismissed as secretary of education by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson in September 2021, the second cabinet dismissal in two years.
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Sir Gavin was dismissed as secretary of defense in 2019 for leaking classified information, and resigned as minister of the Cabinet Office in September last year.
A series of messages reported in Sunday TimesSir Gavin appeared to be complaining to former Chief Whip Wendy Morton that MPs “unsupported” by Liz Truss were being left out of the Queen’s funeral.
In one message he said:
A Tory MP yesterday defended Sir Gavin, claiming his text exchanges with Mr Hancock during the pandemic were sent “at that moment”.
Schools Minister Nick Gibb said LBC: “Gavin’s wife is an elementary school teacher. I’ve worked with Gavin for two years.
“All of us in government have the utmost respect for teachers, both during the pandemic and in normal times.
But the leaked text sparked outrage from education unions, who claimed it showed the government was treating them with “covert contempt.”
Paul Whiteman, secretary-general of the National Association of Principals, said Sir Gavin’s comments about the education union exposed “the chaos and duality at the heart of government”.
Jeff Burton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said at a time of national emergency that labor unions were about to hold formal talks with the government, the text was “an alarming lack of respect for teachers.” said to show
write in Telegraph Sir Gavin said on Wednesday:
Late Wednesday, he also tweeted that his comments were “about some unions, not teachers,” adding, “Outmost respect to teachers who work tirelessly to support their students.” are paying for,” he added.
The comments are the latest to surface via messages leaked from Mr. Hancock’s WhatsApp, Telegraph By journalist Isabelle Oakshott. Mr. Hancock had given her access to the messages while helping her write her memoir, The Pandemic Diaries.
Oakshott, a fierce critic of lockdown measures during the pandemic, has denied violating the NDA by revealing its contents.