Gavin Williamson ‘cancelled crucial meeting to go to seaside’ a week before exams fiasco
Education secretary Gavin Williamson reportedly skipped a ‘crucial’ meeting to go on a staycation one week before the A-level exams chaos.
Williamson travelled to seaside town Scarborough – where he has family – days before thousands of students lost out on university places because they were given unfair results.
He is facing mounting pressure to resign after the government was forced to make a U-turn on using an algorithm which gave disadvantaged pupils lower grades, with the fiasco slammed as an ‘utter shambles’.
While on holiday, Williamson missed a ‘regular get together’ with school leaders about pupils returning in September, three sources told the Sunday Times.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has described the reopening of schools as a ‘national priority’ – insisting failure to do so is ‘not an option’.
Williamson this morning insisted he was in ‘constant communication’ with the education department while he visited Scarborough.
He claimed the trip was the first time he had seen family members since the lockdown was imposed in March.
The education secretary tweeted: ‘I cancelled our family holiday abroad this year to focus on the challenges Covid-19 created for the education sector.
‘Over the summer, I went to see family in Scarborough for the first time since lockdown, and while there I was in constant communication with the department.’
But it comes as another education minister faces criticism after going away to the French Alps as the crisis unfolded.
Gillian Keegan shared pictures of her holiday, including hiking, mountain biking and swimming – on Instagram, which were ‘liked’ by Williamson.
Keegan, minister for apprenticeships and skills at the Department for Education, holds joint responsibility for post-16 education strategy.
The MP for Chichester chose not to come back to Britain after France was added to the UK quarantine list, requiring her to self-isolate for 14 days.
Keegan is said to have posted on social media last week: ‘We will have to make the most of it (our holiday) as we will be #quarantined for 14 days when we get back’.
But some of her 10,000 Twitter followers questioned her decision to go abroad.
One asked: ‘Did you fit work around your holiday or holiday around work?’
Another said: ‘Did you really go on holiday as the results were being given out that hurt our children?’
Keegan this morning insisted she works ‘everywhere’ and tweeted: ‘I went to our house in France (which I bought 16 years ago in case you were wondering!) I can confirm that WiFi, Microsoft Teams and Zoom work equally well in France.’
Defending her decision to go on holiday, she added: ‘I started full time work aged 16 and have continued pretty much every day ever since.
‘I could be called many things but I think anyone who has ever worked with me would confirm I will always get the job done.’
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer blasted the government for a ‘week of chaos’ which has put plans for all children to return to school next month at ‘serious risk’.
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