A FORMER cabinet minister has dismissed Gavin Williamson’s line of text as something that can be solved “over a cup of tea.”
George Eustice defended the Cabinet Ministersaying: “There are times when MPs, ministers, advisers will come to the end of their line because of the frustrations of the job.”
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But Rishi Sunak has branded the language used in Williamson’s aggressive lyrics to the then Chief Whip Wendy Morton as “unacceptable”.
Mr Eustice said: BBC Radio 4’s PM program that the correspondence was “unusual”.
He added: “Probably this would have been something better, just sort it out with a cup of tea between the main whip and Gavin Williamson at the time, rather than pin it down in text messages and then refer it to some sort of panel. “
In a series of texts published this weekend, Sir Gavin accused Ms. Morton was angry that she wanted to “punish” MPs like him who were out of favor with the then prime minister. Liz Truss by excluding them from the queens funeral.
Earlier Conservative Party Chair Sir Jake Berry said he informed Mr Sunak on the day he took over the reins as Tory leader that Ms Morton had made a formal complaint about the reports.
But the prime minister went ahead with the appointment the next day, with Downing Street citing his belief that Sir Gavin would make a “significant contribution” to the government.
The prime minister has said the texts were not “acceptable or correct”, while the cabinet minister Grant Shapps previously echoed this sentiment – described the correspondence as “completely inappropriate”.
But last night Downing Street insisted the prime minister still had “complete confidence” in Mr Williamson after the prime minister himself declined to say he would keep his job when questioned by The Sun.