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”.
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.
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.
– 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