No 10 says the PM has “full confidence” in Gavin Williamson, despite a complaint about his conduct.
Image source, EPAEx-Chief Whip Wendy Morton has not yet received an apology or any contact from Gavin Williamson, friends of Ms Morton have told the BBC.
Ms Morton complained to the Conservative Party on 24 October about Sir Gavin after he sent her a series of expletive-laden messages.
Rishi Sunak has said the language was “not acceptable”, but No 10 insisted he still has confidence in the minister.
The BBC has contacted Sir Gavin for a comment.
In a statement given to the Sunday Times, which published a series of WhatsApp messages, Sir Gavin said: “I of course regret getting frustrated about the way colleagues and I felt we were being treated.”
The Conservative Party has not confirmed if it will launch a formal investigation into Sir Gavin, two weeks after Ms Morton made her complaint.
Neither MP has been informed of an inquiry, as would be expected under the party process.
Under that process, evidence is examined before a decision is made on whether a formal investigation should take place.
It has emerged Ms Morton handed the WhatsApp messages to the Conservative Party on 26 October – two days after she made her complaint.
This video can not be played
To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
In the messages, Sir Gavin is reported to have complained to Ms Morton, who was chief whip at the time, that MPs who had not supported then-PM Liz Truss were being excluded from the Queen’s funeral service at Westminster Abbey.
Sir Gavin is said to have warned Ms Morton “not to push him about” and that “there is a price for everything”.
Asked in Egypt, where he is attending the COP27 climate summit, if the texts amounted to bullying, Mr Sunak said an independent complaints process was under way and it would be “right to let that process conclude”.
He said he been clear the language used was not right and not acceptable.
Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden said the messages were sent “in the heat of the moment at a very difficult time”.
He said Sir Gavin was “frustrated” with the then-government but accepted he “shouldn’t have sent [the texts] and he regrets it”.
Image source, Reuters
Ex-Conservative Party Chair Jake Berry has said he told Mr Sunak about Ms Morton’s complaint accusing Sir Gavin of “bullying and intimidation” on 24 October.
Mr Sunak, who replaced Liz Truss as prime minister on 25 October, subsequently appointed Sir Gavin as a Cabinet Office minister.
The prime minister’s spokesman told reporters that Mr Sunak “knew there was a disagreement” but he didn’t know “the substance” of messages until they were published in the Sunday Times.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Sir Gavin was “clearly not suitable” to be a minister and that his appointment was a sign of “weakness” by Mr Sunak.
Douglas Ross, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, told Times Radio he would sack one of his frontbenchers in Holyrood, if they had written messages similar to those sent by Sir Gavin.