Calls for police inquiry after defence secretary sacked over Huawei leak
PM Theresa May has sacked West Midlands MP Gavin Williamson from his position as Secretary of State for Defence over leaks to the media, while opposition politicians are now demanding a fully criminal inquiry.
Williamson, who has served as MP for South Staffordshire since 2010, was removed from his role after an investigation into leaks to the Daily Telegraph.
They came after a National Security Council meeting regarding plans to allow Chinese telecoms giant Huawei limited access to help build the UK’s 5G network. The government has not confirmed this, and said that a final announcement will be made later this year.
Williamson has been in the role since 2017. He strenuously denies leaking the information, but the BBC reported that Theresa May told him she had “compelling evidence” against him.
In a letter confirming his dismissal, she said: “No other, credible version of events to explain this leak has been identified.”
Williamson replied: “I appreciate you offering me the option to resign, but to resign would have been to accept that I, my civil servants, my military advisers or my staff were responsible: this was not the case.”
Opposition MPs have said there should be an investigation into whether the Official Secrets Act had been breached.
Williamson said he would have been “absolutely exonerated” by a police investigation.
“I volunteered everything up. I couldn’t have volunteered more information on the whole thing,” he told The Times.
“Frankly I’d rather have had a police inquiry, because the beauty of a police inquiry is I’d have been absolutely exonerated and would have been in the clear.”
Senior cabinet members and relevant senior figures in politics, the armed forces and intelligence agencies, including GCHQ, MI6 and MI5, attend National Security Council meetings.
They have and are all expected to sign the Official Secrets Act.
It was announced that Penny Mordaunt, MP for Portsmouth North, will take over Williamson’s role, making her the UK’s first-ever female defence secretary.
