Theresa May under fire from angry Tory MPs for appointing an inexperienced Gavin Williamson as Defence Secretary
The Prime Minister was plunged into crisis after Michael Fallon’s decision to quit
THERESA May faced bitter criticism last night from Tory MPs and generals for making her inexperienced Chief Whip the new Defence Secretary.
Gavin Williamson, 41, saw a meteoric rise to one of the great five offices of state when he replaced shamed Sir Michael Fallon.
Ambitious Mr Williamson, nicknamed The Baby-faced Assassin while the Tories’ discipline chief, has no ministerial experience.
And jealous rivals predicted he would now have Mrs May’s job in his sights.
Mr Williamson has a pet tarantula in his whips’ office and is likely to take it to the MoD. It is named Cronus — after a Greek god who castrated and killed his dad to become leader of the Titans.
While some Tory MPs congratulated Mr Williamson, Health Committee chair Sarah Wollaston tweeted: “There are times when offered a job that it would be better to advise that another would be more experienced & suited to the role.”
He's got a spidey sense
UNTIL yesterday the new Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson was best-known for keeping a huge tarantula on his desk.
Now his stunning rise has seen the odds slashed on Mr Williamson, 41, replacing Theresa May as PM.
The former Chief Whip joked he had the spider to keep MPs in line.
His replacement Julian Smith tweeted: “Just found this on my desk — it’s looking quite Defence-ive.” Mr Williamson, one of Mrs May’s key lieutenants, ran her leadership campaign.
He has been praised for ensuring enough MPs have remained on-side to guarantee the Tories key victories in the Commons.
He was also pictured signing the £1billion electoral deal with the DUP in June. The son of Labour voters from Scarborough, he went to a comprehensive school and Bradford University.
When David Cameron quit as PM he “privately vowed” to stop Boris Johnson becoming Tory leader.
Mr Williamson may now be BoJo’s rival in the race to succeed Mrs May.
A livid minister blasted the PM, telling The Sun: “She is so weak she has let Gavin Williamson appoint himself Defence Secretary. This is appalling. She has to go.”
The promotion also angered former top brass who said they would now find it harder to oppose cuts.
Immediate comparisons were made to TV’s House of Cards, about fictitious chief whip Francis Urquhart’s ruthless rise to power.
Allies of the PM admitted the move was “high risk” but insisted Mr Williamson is very talented. His loyal deputy Julian Smith fills his shoes as the Chief Whip, and recently re-elected Esther McVey becomes his deputy.
Tarantula-loving backroom operator who buttered up Cameron and May
GAVIN Williamson has seen a meteoric rise since he joined Parliament seven years ago and has become a confidant of two different Prime Ministers.
The 41-year-old MP for South Staffordshire, a former chairman of the Tories’ student wing, was appointed parliamentary private secretary to David Cameron in 2013, writes Hugo Gye.
The unpaid role is officially very junior - thos who do it are known as bag-carriers - but in fact it gave Mr Williamson huge influence because he was the main go-between making sure the PM got on with his backbench MPs.
After Mr Cameron resigned last year, Mr Williamson was one of his few close aides to get a senior job under Theresa May.
She gave him yet another key backroom role, appointing him as the Government’s Chief Whip who is responsible for keeping MPs in line - a crucial job given the Tories’ wafer-thin majority.
His importance was underlined when he was the only Tory to sign the pact between the Conservatives and the DUP which kept Mrs May in power.
Mr Williamson is known around Westminster for keeping a pet tarantula named Cronus in his Commons office, a nod to the fearsome reputation of party whips in the past.
Defence Secretary will be his first job which has a high public profile - forcing him to show new skills after years as a behind-the-scenes operator.