Gavin Williamson sacked for claiming 'Theresa May’s diabetes made her unfit' to be Prime Minister
3 min read
Gavin Williamson was dumped as Defence Secretary after he questioned Theresa May’s fitness to carry out her role, it has been claimed.
Mr Williamson was ousted from the Cabinet after he repeatedly made suggestions that the PM's Type-1 diabetes made her unfit for the office, the Sunday Times has reported.
Mrs May dismissed him on Wednesday with a scathing letter accusing Mr Williamson of leaking top-secret information on the potential involvement of Chinese firm Huawei in the development of the UK’s 5G network.
But according to the paper, she made the decision after a senior Conservative official overheard him making the comments about her health to other Tory MPs.
An ally of Mrs May said: “It’s absolutely outrageous that he would attempt to use the Prime Minister’s health condition against her and to suggest it makes her too frail and ill to be the Prime Minister.”
But Mr Williamson - who has denied any involvement in the leak - hit out at the suggestions, instead claiming he was was the victim of a “shabby and discredited witch hunt”.
Mrs May has come under growing pressure to release the evidence proving Mr Williamson was responsible for the Huawei leak, after she claimed a probe led by Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill had found “credible evidence” he was behind it.
The paper also reports that tensions between Number 10 and Mr Williamson had boiled over after Mrs May was forced to block him from involving British troops in military action in Africa and the South China sea.
Mr Williamson was allegedly caught writing “f*** the prime minister” on paperwork after she rejected his suggestions to send Royal Navy warships into Chinese waters.
But an ally of the former Defence Secretary said: “The fact that so many knives are now out for him shows that he ruffled feathers in pursuit of defending the armed forces.
“The prime minister always found it irritating that Gavin was willing to stand his ground when he thought it was in the best interests of the army, navy and air force.
They added: “She had never done this for the police when she was home secretary and couldn’t work out why Gavin would do it for the military.”
POLICE PROBE
Mr Williamson’s calls for a police probe into the leak were dealt a blow last night after Met Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said the leaked report did not “contain information that would breach the official secrets act”.
The former Defence Secretary had repeatedly called for the criminal inquiry, which he claimed would help clear his name.
But the Met official said the disclosure did not meet the test to trigger a police investigation.
“I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office,” Mr Basu said.
“No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police.”
Reacting to the announcement, Mr Williamson told Sky News: “With the Metropolitan Police not willing to do a criminal investigation, it is clear that a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch-hunt that has been so badly mishandled.”
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