Difference between revisions of "Gavin Williamson"

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Former Chief Whip '''Gavin Williamson''' is [[Secretary of State for Defence]] having been appointed on 2 November 2017 following the resignation of Sir [[Michael Fallon]] for inappropriate behaviour.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/michael-fallon-uk-defense-secretary-resigns/|title=Theresa May appoints Gavin Williamson as Defence Secretary|date=2017-11-01|work=POLITICO|access-date=2017-11-02|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-41844320|title=Williamson is named Defence Secretary|date=2017-11-02|work=BBC News|access-date=2017-11-02|language=en-GB}}</ref>
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'''Gavin Williamson''' is a UK politician. On 2 November 2017 he was appointed [[Secretary of State for Defence]] following the resignation of Sir [[Michael Fallon]] for "inappropriate behaviour".{{clarify}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/michael-fallon-uk-defense-secretary-resigns/|title=Theresa May appoints Gavin Williamson as Defence Secretary|date=2017-11-01|work=POLITICO|access-date=2017-11-02|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-41844320|title=Williamson is named Defence Secretary|date=2017-11-02|work=BBC News|access-date=2017-11-02|language=en-GB}}</ref>
  
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==Scourge of Russia==
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==Statements==
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Commenting after the announcement of a Ministry of Defence (MoD) spending review on 26 January 2018, Gavin Williamson accused Moscow of spying on the United Kingdom’s infrastructure, which includes energy lines and under-sea cables that provide energy and power to some three million homes:
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===Criticism of Russia===
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Commenting after the announcement of a Ministry of Defence (MoD) spending review on 26 January 2018, Gavin Williamson accused [[Russia]] of spying on the UK's infrastructure, including energy lines and under-sea cables that provide energy and power to some three million homes:
 
:“The plan for the Russians won’t be for landing craft to appear in the South Bay in Scarborough, and off Brighton Beach. They are going to be thinking, ‘How can we just cause so much pain to Britain?’. Damage its economy, rip its infrastructure apart, actually cause thousands and thousands and thousands of deaths, but actually have an element of creating total chaos within the country.
 
:“The plan for the Russians won’t be for landing craft to appear in the South Bay in Scarborough, and off Brighton Beach. They are going to be thinking, ‘How can we just cause so much pain to Britain?’. Damage its economy, rip its infrastructure apart, actually cause thousands and thousands and thousands of deaths, but actually have an element of creating total chaos within the country.
 
:“Why would they keep photographing and looking at power stations, why are they looking at the interconnectors that bring so much electricity and so much energy into our country? They are looking at these things because they are saying, ‘These are the ways we can hurt Britain’”.<ref>''[https://www.rt.com/uk/417061-defence-russia-kill-williamson/ "Russia could kill ‘thousands and thousands’: Defence Secretary scaremongers ahead of military review"]''</ref>
 
:“Why would they keep photographing and looking at power stations, why are they looking at the interconnectors that bring so much electricity and so much energy into our country? They are looking at these things because they are saying, ‘These are the ways we can hurt Britain’”.<ref>''[https://www.rt.com/uk/417061-defence-russia-kill-williamson/ "Russia could kill ‘thousands and thousands’: Defence Secretary scaremongers ahead of military review"]''</ref>
  
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The Russian Embassy hit back at Williamson on ''[[Twitter]]'',<ref>''[https://twitter.com/RussianEmbassy/status/956842898674339840 "Some British politicians bear no responsibility for their words"]''</ref> while former ''Telegraph'' journalist and [[RT]] contributor [[Peter Oborne]] labelled him as "out of control".<ref>''[https://twitter.com/OborneTweets/status/956851423081324544 "Gavin Williamson out of control"]''</ref> Russia’s defence ministry spokesman, Major General [[Igor Konashenkov]], pithily observed:
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The Russian Embassy replied on ''[[Twitter]]'' that "[https://twitter.com/RussianEmbassy/status/956842898674339840 Some British politicians bear no responsibility for their words" while former ''[[Telegraph]]'' journalist and [[RT]] contributor [[Peter Oborne]] labelled him as "out of control".<ref>''[https://twitter.com/OborneTweets/status/956851423081324544 "Gavin Williamson out of control"]''</ref> Russia’s defence ministry spokesman, Major General [[Igor Konashenkov]], pithily observed:
 
:“Gavin Williamson in his fiery crusade for military budget money appears to have lost his grasp on reason. His fears about Russia getting pictures of power plants and studying the routes of British pipelines are worthy of a comic plot or a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2ecasPqhgk&app=desktop Monty Python's Flying Circus sketch.”]<ref>''[https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2018/02/05/russia-dreadful-threat-to-britain.html "Russia’s Dreadful Threat to Britain"]''</ref>
 
:“Gavin Williamson in his fiery crusade for military budget money appears to have lost his grasp on reason. His fears about Russia getting pictures of power plants and studying the routes of British pipelines are worthy of a comic plot or a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2ecasPqhgk&app=desktop Monty Python's Flying Circus sketch.”]<ref>''[https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2018/02/05/russia-dreadful-threat-to-britain.html "Russia’s Dreadful Threat to Britain"]''</ref>
 +
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===Support for Israel===
 +
Speaking on 2 February 2018 at the [[Conservative Friends of Israel]]’s annual Parliamentary reception, Gavin Williamson hailed [[Israel]] as a “beacon of light and hope, in a region where there is so much hatred and hurt” and said that the [[United Kingdom]] “will always be Israel’s friend.” The UK and Israel, Williamson asserted:
 +
:“have a strong and firm relationship of working together. It’s a relationship of partners… It’s a partnership of equals, a partnership of friends.”<ref>''[https://www.rt.com/uk/417728-israel-gavin-williamson-defense/ "‘We’ll always be Israel’s friend’ - UK defence secretary vows to stand by ally at London gathering"]''</ref>
  
 
==Pentagon visit==
 
==Pentagon visit==
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===Deploying hawkish rhetoric===
 
===Deploying hawkish rhetoric===
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While in the USA, Gavin Williamson came under fresh scrutiny after Prime Minister [[Theresa May]] refused to back the Defence Secretary over claims he didn’t tell the truth about a “flirtatious” relationship he had with a former junior colleague. Williamson who took over from [[Michael Fallon]] after he resigned amid sexual harassment allegations, admitted his affair in an interview with the ''[[Daily Mail]]'' on Monday 29 January 2018 when the father-of-two told the right-wing tabloid how he had a relationship with a former junior employee at fireplace firm Elgin and Hall in 2004, behind his wife’s back.
+
While in the USA, Gavin Williamson came under fresh scrutiny after [[Theresa May]] refused to back the Defence Secretary over claims he didn’t tell the truth about a “flirtatious” relationship he had with a former junior colleague. Williamson who took over from [[Michael Fallon]] after he resigned amid sexual harassment allegations, admitted his affair in an interview with the ''[[Daily Mail]]'' on Monday 29 January 2018 when the father-of-two told the right-wing tabloid how he had a relationship with a former junior employee at fireplace firm Elgin and Hall in 2004, behind his wife’s back.
  
 
Williamson made the admission on the same day as he claimed “Russia is ready to kills Brits by the thousands,” prompting accusations that he deployed hawkish rhetoric to deflect attention away from his affair. When asked whether Williamson had been completely honest about how he departed his former job, Tory leader May – on a visit to [[China]] – fell short of outright defending him, saying:
 
Williamson made the admission on the same day as he claimed “Russia is ready to kills Brits by the thousands,” prompting accusations that he deployed hawkish rhetoric to deflect attention away from his affair. When asked whether Williamson had been completely honest about how he departed his former job, Tory leader May – on a visit to [[China]] – fell short of outright defending him, saying:
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The PM also seemed to reject any similarities between Williamson and her former First Secretary, [[Damian Green]], who was sacked after a cabinet office investigation found he had not been honest about pornographic material found on his parliamentary computer. The latest scandal is likely to deal a blow to Williamson’s reported aspirations of becoming the next PM. Williamson had already been the target of a widespread backlash, as he was appointed to the role despite having no experience as a minister or in the armed forces.<ref>''[https://www.rt.com/uk/417597-gavin-williamson-affair-may/ "Theresa May refuses to defend Gavin Williamson over affair with junior employee"]''</ref>
 
The PM also seemed to reject any similarities between Williamson and her former First Secretary, [[Damian Green]], who was sacked after a cabinet office investigation found he had not been honest about pornographic material found on his parliamentary computer. The latest scandal is likely to deal a blow to Williamson’s reported aspirations of becoming the next PM. Williamson had already been the target of a widespread backlash, as he was appointed to the role despite having no experience as a minister or in the armed forces.<ref>''[https://www.rt.com/uk/417597-gavin-williamson-affair-may/ "Theresa May refuses to defend Gavin Williamson over affair with junior employee"]''</ref>
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==Israel's friend==
 
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Speaking on 2 February 2018 at the [[Conservative Friends of Israel]]’s annual Parliamentary reception, Gavin Williamson hailed [[Israel]] as a “beacon of light and hope, in a region where there is so much hatred and hurt” and said that the [[United Kingdom]] “will always be Israel’s friend.” The UK and Israel, Williamson asserted:
 
−
:“have a strong and firm relationship of working together. It’s a relationship of partners… It’s a partnership of equals, a partnership of friends.”<ref>''[https://www.rt.com/uk/417728-israel-gavin-williamson-defense/ "‘We’ll always be Israel’s friend’ - UK defence secretary vows to stand by ally at London gathering"]''</ref>
 
  
 
==Brexit "scandal"==
 
==Brexit "scandal"==
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In October 2016, the ''[[Mail on Sunday]]'' reported that the then [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Whip Chief Whip,] Gavin Williamson, told Downing Street that [[Michael Gove]] had had a homosexual relationship with personal and political ally [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominic_Cummings Dominic Cummings], chief strategist of the ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vote_Leave Leave campaign]'' in the [[EU Referendum]].<ref>''[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3886246/Chief-Whip-named-Michael-Gove-Minister-false-gay-affair-claim.html "Chief Whip named Michael Gove as the Minister in the false gay affair claim... and did he REALLY call Theresa May a 'charisma free b****'?"]''</ref>  
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In October 2016, the ''[[Mail on Sunday]]'' reported that the then [[Chief Whip]], Gavin Williamson, told Downing Street that [[Michael Gove]] had had a homosexual relationship with personal and political ally [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominic_Cummings Dominic Cummings], chief strategist of the ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vote_Leave Leave campaign]'' in the [[EU Referendum]].<ref>''[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3886246/Chief-Whip-named-Michael-Gove-Minister-false-gay-affair-claim.html "Chief Whip named Michael Gove as the Minister in the false gay affair claim... and did he REALLY call Theresa May a 'charisma free b****'?"]''</ref>  
 
{{SMWDocs}}
 
{{SMWDocs}}
 
==References==
 
==References==
 
<references/>
 
<references/>

Revision as of 08:22, 21 March 2018

Person.png Gavin Williamson   Keywiki Powerbase WebsiteRdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
Gavin Williamson.jpg
Scourge of Russia, Israel's friend
BornGavin Alexander Williamson
1976-06-25
Scarborough, England, UK
Alma materUniversity of Bradford
Children2
SpouseJoanne Eland
Member ofConservative Friends of Israel
PartyConservative

Gavin Williamson is a UK politician. On 2 November 2017 he was appointed Secretary of State for Defence following the resignation of Sir Michael Fallon for "inappropriate behaviour".[clarification needed][1][2]

Statements

Criticism of Russia

Commenting after the announcement of a Ministry of Defence (MoD) spending review on 26 January 2018, Gavin Williamson accused Russia of spying on the UK's infrastructure, including energy lines and under-sea cables that provide energy and power to some three million homes:

“The plan for the Russians won’t be for landing craft to appear in the South Bay in Scarborough, and off Brighton Beach. They are going to be thinking, ‘How can we just cause so much pain to Britain?’. Damage its economy, rip its infrastructure apart, actually cause thousands and thousands and thousands of deaths, but actually have an element of creating total chaos within the country.
“Why would they keep photographing and looking at power stations, why are they looking at the interconnectors that bring so much electricity and so much energy into our country? They are looking at these things because they are saying, ‘These are the ways we can hurt Britain’”.[3]

The Russian Embassy replied on Twitter that "[https://twitter.com/RussianEmbassy/status/956842898674339840 Some British politicians bear no responsibility for their words" while former Telegraph journalist and RT contributor Peter Oborne labelled him as "out of control".[4] Russia’s defence ministry spokesman, Major General Igor Konashenkov, pithily observed:

“Gavin Williamson in his fiery crusade for military budget money appears to have lost his grasp on reason. His fears about Russia getting pictures of power plants and studying the routes of British pipelines are worthy of a comic plot or a Monty Python's Flying Circus sketch.”[5]

Support for Israel

Speaking on 2 February 2018 at the Conservative Friends of Israel’s annual Parliamentary reception, Gavin Williamson hailed Israel as a “beacon of light and hope, in a region where there is so much hatred and hurt” and said that the United Kingdom “will always be Israel’s friend.” The UK and Israel, Williamson asserted:

“have a strong and firm relationship of working together. It’s a relationship of partners… It’s a partnership of equals, a partnership of friends.”[6]

Pentagon visit

On 1 February 2018, Gavin Williamson visited US Defense Secretary James Mattis at the Pentagon, where they discussed the threats from Daesh, Russia and North Korea.[7]

Deploying hawkish rhetoric

While in the USA, Gavin Williamson came under fresh scrutiny after Theresa May refused to back the Defence Secretary over claims he didn’t tell the truth about a “flirtatious” relationship he had with a former junior colleague. Williamson who took over from Michael Fallon after he resigned amid sexual harassment allegations, admitted his affair in an interview with the Daily Mail on Monday 29 January 2018 when the father-of-two told the right-wing tabloid how he had a relationship with a former junior employee at fireplace firm Elgin and Hall in 2004, behind his wife’s back.

Williamson made the admission on the same day as he claimed “Russia is ready to kills Brits by the thousands,” prompting accusations that he deployed hawkish rhetoric to deflect attention away from his affair. When asked whether Williamson had been completely honest about how he departed his former job, Tory leader May – on a visit to China – fell short of outright defending him, saying:

“Gavin has told people about something that happened before he became a Member of Parliament, let alone became a minister.”

The PM also seemed to reject any similarities between Williamson and her former First Secretary, Damian Green, who was sacked after a cabinet office investigation found he had not been honest about pornographic material found on his parliamentary computer. The latest scandal is likely to deal a blow to Williamson’s reported aspirations of becoming the next PM. Williamson had already been the target of a widespread backlash, as he was appointed to the role despite having no experience as a minister or in the armed forces.[8]

Brexit "scandal"

In October 2016, the Mail on Sunday reported that the then Chief Whip, Gavin Williamson, told Downing Street that Michael Gove had had a homosexual relationship with personal and political ally Dominic Cummings, chief strategist of the Leave campaign in the EU Referendum.[9]

 

Events Participated in

EventStartEndLocation(s)Description
Munich Security Conference/201915 February 201917 February 2019Germany
Munich
Bavaria		The 55th Munich Security Conference, which included "A Spreading Plague" aimed at "identifying gaps and making recommendations to improve the global system for responding to deliberate, high consequence biological events."
UK/Parliament/Voted YES to vaccine passports in 2021UK/House of CommonsThese members of the UK Parliament voted YES to the introduction of a "vaccine" passport in 2021

 

Related Documents

TitleTypePublication dateAuthor(s)Description
Document:Government set to defy JCVI advice and vaccinate healthy children 'from next week'Article4 September 2021Daisy StephensIn spite of the recommendations made by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, the British government is set to roll out COVID-19/Vaccines for children aged 12 to 15.
Document:Huawei Hypocrisyblog post7 May 2019Craig MurrayFormer Deputy PM Nick Clegg said GCHQ's ability "to hack anything from handsets to whole networks … needs to be much better understood".
Document:The schools scandalArticle19 August 2020Lewis GoodallHow a government led by technocrats nearly destroyed a generation of social mobility
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References

  1. ↑ {{URL|example.com|optional display text}}
  2. ↑ {{URL|example.com|optional display text}}
  3. ↑ "Russia could kill ‘thousands and thousands’: Defence Secretary scaremongers ahead of military review"
  4. ↑ "Gavin Williamson out of control"
  5. ↑ "Russia’s Dreadful Threat to Britain"
  6. ↑ "‘We’ll always be Israel’s friend’ - UK defence secretary vows to stand by ally at London gathering"
  7. ↑ "Defense Secretary hosts UK counterpart"
  8. ↑ "Theresa May refuses to defend Gavin Williamson over affair with junior employee"
  9. ↑ "Chief Whip named Michael Gove as the Minister in the false gay affair claim... and did he REALLY call Theresa May a 'charisma free b****'?"
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