(15.09.2021)
In all, four ministers were removed from the Cabinet: Mr Williamson, Amanda Milling as party co-chairman, Robert Jenrick as Communities Secretary and Robert Buckland as Justice Secretary.
However, the most high-profile demotion was Mr Raab, who remained in Cabinet but was stripped of one of the great offices of state, the Foreign Office.
(09.12.2018)
An RAF source told The Express: This situation obviously has to be rectified before the plane enters operational service.‘
The source also told the paper that defence secretary Gavin Williamson and RAF Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen have always known about the issue.
Huawei was the pretext, but you couldn’t help but think that Iran was the primary motive for Mike Pompeo’s decidedly undiplomatic visit to London this week. The US Secretary of State’s public dressing down was for Britain one of the most humiliating episodes – and there have been plenty of them of late – I’ve seen in a long time, and can only really be excused in the context of the paralysing chaos into which British government has descended these past two years.
The former defence secretary is being urged by friends to table a Parliamentary motion demanding a new investigation, which would almost certainly be backed by opposition parties and a number of Tory MPs.
He is also weighing up whether to engineer his own “Geoffrey Howe moment” by making a speech in the Commons that could hasten Theresa May’s downfall, in the same way that the former deputy PM triggered the leadership contest that ended Margaret Thatcher’s premiership.
He said that police had not been provided with evidence by the Cabinet Office that a crime has been committed and no crime had been alleged by the “owner of the material”.
According to various reports citing government sources, Mr Williamson had told fellow Tories Mrs May‘s health makes her unfit to be prime minister.
A Downing Street source said the briefings did not come from No 10.
Heute dominiert die Entlassung von [Verteidigungsminister] Gavin Williamson wegen Weitergabe von Informationen die Schlagzeilen der britischen Medien. Es wird viel darüber diskutiert, ob er Dokumente weitergegeben hat, was seine Motive waren, etc. Das ist nicht meine Sorge. Doch was ich bemerkenswert fand, war die Tatsache, dass niemand das grundlegende Recht des Daily Telegraph in Frage stellte, diese Informationen zu veröffentlichen.
Niemand stellt das in Frage. Niemand bezweifelt, dass es richtig ist, wenn ein Medienunternehmen Informationen veröffentlicht, auch wenn die Leute vielleicht das Motiv der Person hinterfragen, die sie ihm zugespielt hat. Warum fordern die Leute nicht, dass der Herausgeber des Daily Telegraph Julian Assange in Belmarsh Gesellschaft leistet?“
Meanwhile, there will be no criminal investigation into the affair – after the government refused to refer it to the police, despite experts warning of a breach of the Official Secrets Act.
Ms May was asked three times if she would bow to Mr Williamson’s request to be handed a copy of the conclusions reached by Mark Sedwill, the national security adviser, but refused to budge.
As the latest scandal to rock Theresa May’s government engulfed Westminster for a second day;
– Labour chiefs united with some Tory MPs to demand a police probe is mounted to get to the bottom of what happened.
– Mr Williamson said he would personally welcome a criminal investigation as the only was to “clear” his name.
FT Whitehall correspondent Sebastian Payne on the reasons why Gavin Williamson became the first UK cabinet minister in a generation to be fired following a leak inquiry.
Gavin Williamson has been refused a copy of the report of the investigation which claimed he leaked secrets from the National Security Council, The Independent has learnt.
The former defence secretary believes that the release of the report will prove the weakness of the case against him which led to his firing.
The British government needed to investigate the disclosure of secret information relating to Chinese telecoms company Huawei because it came from a classified intelligence briefing, the prime minister’s spokesman said on Thursday.
(29.04.2019)
On Monday, the U.S. sent a stark message across the Atlantic: „It is the United States’ position that putting Huawei or any other untrustworthy vendor in any part of the 5G telecommunications network is a risk,” said Robert Strayer, as reported by Reuters. This can hardly come as a surprise to the U.K. Washington has made no secret of its binary view of Huawei‘s equipment, and the U.K. is its closest ally, even within the Five Eyes.
Mike Pompeo will say in a face-to-face meeting next Wednesday that the Chinese technology company poses a risk to British citizens and could breach privacy protections when he meets the Prime Minister and Jeremy Hunt, the Foreign Secretary, in London.
The former head of the CIA will make clear that giving Huawei access could throw US-UK technology partnerships into doubt, according to a senior US State Department official, who said spelling out the risks was „imperative“.
Scotland Yard are on standby to launch a probe into claims the ex-Defence Secretary leaked spy secrets.
But they can‘t start their investigation unless they get the green light from No10 – and Theresa May is reluctant to get the cops involved.
Responding to a question from the Press Association during a visit to Ethiopia, Mr Hunt said: “Let me say that, when it comes to issues like whether there should be a police investigation or not, there’s a very, very important principle of our system that those decisions are not made by politicians, they are made independently by police.
“And that has to be the correct way forward in this situation.”
„The Prime Minister has said she now considers that this matter has been closed and the Cabinet Secretary does not consider it necessary to refer it to the police, but we would of course cooperate fully should the police themselves consider that an investigation were necessary.“
Lidington‘s remarks were echoed by Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill – the most senior civil servant in the UK – who said he did not believe it necessary to refer the matter to the police.
„I am sorry that you feel recent leaks from the National Security Council originated in my Department. I emphatically believe this was not the case. I strenuously deny that I was in any way involved in this leak and I am confident that a thorough and formal inquiry would have vindicated my position.
I have always trusted my civil servants, military advisers and staff. I believe the assurances they have given me.
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.“
Bis dato galt Williamson als ehrgeiziger und aufstrebender Politiker, der sich sogar im Rennen um die Nachfolge Mays in Stellung gebracht hatte.
– The PM sacked Gavin Williamson as Defence Secretary following a leak of secret information last week
– Is alleged he revealed National Security Council discussions about Huawei‘s involvement in UK‘s 5G network
– He has ‚strenuously‘ denied being involved in the leak, despite claims of ‚compelling evidence‘ against him
– Speaking to the Daily Mail, he said it was a ‚shame she didn‘t recognise‘ how he had kept her as the PM in past
– Williamson also suggests that Mrs May‘s investigator Sir Mark Sedwill was settling a vendetta against him
– Growing calls were made for him to face police action, including from Labour deputy leader Tom Watson
May was told of what she called “compelling” evidence of Williamson’s involvement before she was due to face a grilling from the backbench liaison committee. The defence secretary was later summoned to May’s House of Commons office, where she confronted him with the evidence, offered him the opportunity to resign – and when he refused, immediately fired him.
Dominic Grieve said the disclosure to a newspaper of an NSC discussion about Chinese telecoms giant Huawei‘s potential involvement in the development of the UK‘s 5G mobile network was „corrosive and undesirable“.
Gavin Williamson’s sacking as defence secretary leads the papers on Thursday.
The Cabinet minister was fired by Theresa May on Wednesday after an inquiry into an unprecedented leak of information from the National Security Council (NSC).
May wirft Williamson vor, sensible Informationen aus einem Treffen des nationalen Sicherheitsrats an die Presse weitergegeben zu haben. Die bisherige Entwicklungsministerin Penny Mordaunt soll nun seinen Posten einnehmen.
May‘s surprise decision followed an inquiry into how the Daily Telegraph newspaper discovered that the UK government was preparing to give Huawei access to parts of the country‘s 5G mobile network.
Anna Soubry MP (pictured) said the couple “should not have been named in the media”, adding that a new law was “needed” to make it a criminal offence to name suspects before charge unless it is in the interests of justice.
The pair were pictured on the front pages of the Mail on Sunday, Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Mirror, Sunday Express and Sunday People yesterday morning, as well as on numerous news websites.
“The way we were initially perceived was disgusting although those who knew us did not doubt us for a second.
We were both released without charge or further action. We are totally overwhelmed by the support we have received from people all over the world and we would like to thank everyone single one who has done that.“
via cnnbrk cnn Retweet
The Surrey Police officers were called to investigate a red light „hovering“ over a bus station in Redhill – around six miles from the airport.
But when they arrived, they found the mysterious beam was just a warning light on top of a crane.
(23.12.2018) Transport Secretary Chris Grayling would not give details of what measures had been put in place, but said some of them were “military capabilities”, adding: “There are a range of measures which are there today which should give passengers confidence that they are safe to fly.”
The first departure from Gatwick this morning was a Norwegian flight to the capital of Lapland, Rovaniemi — described as the “official Hometown of Santa Claus” — which left at 6.34am.
The conference call was joined by the Cabinet Office minister, David Lidington – Theresa May’s de facto deputy; the home secretary, Sajid Javid; the security minister, Ben Wallace; and the defence minister Stuart Andrew.
Lidington was said to have pressed for the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence to update their rapid deployment protocols for signing off requests for military assistance.
(22.12.2018)
Det Ch Supt Jason Tingley said no footage of a drone had been obtained.
Detective Chief Superintendent Jason Tingey, of Sussex Police, confirmed to Sky News that officers had found the damaged drone.
He said: „I can say yesterday we recovered a damaged drone close to the perimeter of Gatwick Airport… and we will be doing everything we can with regards to progressing a forensic examination of that drone.
‚We are working with human beings saying they have seen something‘
DEFENCE Secretary Gavin Williamson has insisted the fight to secure Syria and Afghanistan would endure – despite Trump’s shock withdrawal of troops from both war zones.
Williamson’s faces at various points – and his decreasing ability to articulate – were a priceless picture of his consternation at dealing with an interviewer who was actually doing his job and holding him to account, as Madeley made clear, on behalf of his viewers.
Tame presenters and journalists on other stations please take note. Everyone else – enjoy and share.