Gavin Williamson and when House of Cards meets Yes, Minister and Dad’s Army – Bill Carmichael

This week’s brutal sacking of the Yorkshire-born Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson is a case in point. This was a remarkable event – not just because it was a dismissal of a very senior Cabinet Minister, but also because of the manner in which it was done.

For example, the exchange of letters between the Prime Minister and Mr Williamson showed none of the polite courtesies we have come to expect when a Minister departs from the Government.

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Instead Theresa May bluntly accuses Mr Williamson of failing fully to co-operate with the investigation into the leaking of hugely sensitive discussions about the involvement of Chinese firm Huawei in the UK’s 5G network.

She goes on to say that “there is compelling evidence suggesting your responsibility for the unauthorised disclosure”. Ouch!

She adds: “No other credible version of events to explain this leak has been identified.” Double ouch!

For his part Mr Williamson, who was born in Scarborough to Labour-supporting parents, has vehemently protested his innocence, even going so far as to swear on his children’s lives that he didn’t leak the information.

Instead he blames a “kangaroo court” orchestrated by Whitehall’s most powerful civil servant, Sir Mark Sedwill, for his downfall. Either way, his brief tenure at the top of the political tree appears to be over.

All this sounds like the script for one of those melodramatic political dramas on TV – with a bit of old-fashioned British farce thrown in. House of Cards meets Yes, Minister, with a dash of Dad’s Army for good measure.

Indeed, Mr Williamson earned his unfortunate nickname – ‘Private Pike’, after the gormless Home Guard soldier in the classic comedy – after he told Russia to “shut up and go away” following the Salisbury poisoning.

The knives have been out for Mr Williamson for some time. He is clearly a ferociously ambitious if slightly bumptious character who was, perhaps, a bit too fond of his own publicity. He had no ministerial experience when he was unexpectedly catapulted into one of the top jobs in government in 2017.

Very soon damaging stories against him – ironically, published as a result of unauthorised leaks – began to appear in newspapers. It was alleged, for example, that he had suggested mounting “really expensive guns” on tractors and thought paintball guns could be used against Spanish warships in Gibraltar.

His friends suggest that this concerted “Get Gav” campaign finally secured his scalp.

We may never know for sure where the truth lies, although the Prime Minister must feel very secure of her ground to take such extraordinary measures.

And if Mr Williamson was responsible for the disclosure as she alleges, he can have no complaints. This was a leak not just from the Cabinet, but from the National Security Council that was specifically set up so that sensitive security and intelligence matters could be discussed in the strictest confidence.

Indeed Labour and the Lib Dems are now demanding a criminal investigation into breaches of the Official Secrets Act – a charge that could result in a prison sentence if proven.

I’ve been searching for parallels for 
this week’s events and, in almost half a century of close observation of British politics, I can find nothing remotely similar.

I am too young to remember the John Profumo affair – but that was very different. He resigned after sleeping with a woman who was not his wife and then lying to the Commons about it. She was also, it was said, sleeping with the Russian Naval attaché at the same time, but there was never any suggestion that Profumo leaked government secrets.

Mr Williamson, who keeps a pet tarantula in his office, apparently to intimidate visitors, says he will continue to serve as a backbench MP. It is worth noting he is a former Chief Whip, and is therefore privy to all the secrets and scandals of the Conservative Party. He knows where the bodies are buried.

He may go down in history as an unsuccessful Minister mired in scandal – but he could still prove to be a potent enemy for the Prime Minister. Perhaps Mrs May needs to beware the return of spider man.