Gavin Williamson is being knighted (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
(Picture: PA Archive)Gavin Williamson has been knighted, the Government announced on Thursday.
“The Queen has been pleased to approve that the honour of Knighthood be conferred upon The Rt. Hon. Gavin Williamson CBE MP,” No10 announced.
Sir Gavin was axed as Education Secretary last September after facing a wave of criticism over his handling of exams and the closure of schools during the Covid pandemic.
He lost his job shortly after confusing, in an interview with The Standard, footballer Marcus Rashford and rugby star Maro Itoje.
Giving him an honour is likely to prove extremely controversial.
Sir Gavin is believed to have played a role in keeping Boris Johnson in No10 by helping to defuse a threatened Tory revolt against the Prime Minister over the “partygate” scandal.
The MP for South Staffordshire, who was elected in 2010 and used to work for a fireplace company, rose swiftly through the political ranks becoming Parliamentary Private Secretary to Prime Minister David Cameron.
He was appointed Chief Whip by Theresa May in July 2016 when she was Prime Minister.
As Chief Whip, he famously kept a pet tarantula called Cronus in a cage in his office.
He became Defence Secretary in November 2017.
But he was sacked in May 2019 following an inquiry into a leak about Huawei from a top-level National Security Council meeting.
He has always denied any wrongdoing.
He returned to Cabinet in July 2019 when he became Education Secretary.
Shadow Cabinet minister Wes Streeting reacted to the announcement tweeting: “Reward for failure. Shameless.”
Liberal Democrat education spokeswoman Munira Wilson said: “Parents across the country will be fuming at this reward for his abysmal failures.
“He failed to get laptops to children who needed them, sleepwalked into the exam crisis and caused chaos for parents and teachers over getting children back to school.”
Labour’s shadow education spokesperson Bridget Phillipson said: “Gavin Williamson left children to go hungry, created two years of complete chaos over exams and failed to get laptops out to kids struggling to learn during lockdowns. His record is astonishing and disgraceful.
“Boris Johnson is proving again it’s one rule for him and his mates and another for the rest of us.
“This shows utter contempt for the challenges children and education staff have faced during the pandemic.”
