Gavin Williamson “swearing on his DCs’ life”

[Loopytiles]

Sacked defence secretary says he didn’t leak from the National Security council, and reportedly “swore on his DCs’ life”.

I’m generally cynical and am no fan of Mr Williamson, but if he said this tend to believe him. It’s a rarely used phrase and not one I imagine parents would use if lying.

Am I being naive? Suppose that unless you’re superstitious, nothing bad will happen to your DC if you say it about a lie.

I think there should be a criminal investigation.

It’s just so unprofessional and totally amateur hour/Jezza Kyle

Who works in an office where if there was a major fuck up, you wouldn’t just be laughed at if you said something so idiotic(?l) and meaningless?

I actually think if she wasn't acting with integrity she'd have found someone else and made them a scape goat. Because it being him was so against her interests.

I think they can deselect him as a candidate, so it doesn't mean it won't be still a Tory seat, just the local Tory part can start a deselection process so he can't stand again,

I employed a girl who said this when I tackled her with incontrovertible proof that she had stolen from me. I think that offended m more than the theft.

it was in Teresa May's interests for it not to be him

She kind of asks for it, though, given her dreadful record of gathering the most heinous backstabbers around herself and promoting the least competent to the most inappropriate posts (Boris for Foreign Secretary, anyone? Who on earth thought that was a good idea? Oh yes - she did). So yeah, it's a tough choice which dumb witted liar you prefer to believe.

However, the security services do this sort of thing for breakfast, and are career civil servants not politicians, so I'd tend to believe them, and they reckon they've nailed the culprit. It would be ever so interesting to know what the evidence was, though, provided disclosure does not in itself compromise security. I hope they had the bugger's phone tapped (but could only access the records in special circumstances, of course; even Defence Secretaries have the right to a bit of private life. Especially cheating ones.)

Both the GW sacking .. - They will lie about that

and the Grayling ferry contract situation are the subject of Urgent Questions for debate in the Commons today - they will definitely lie about this

And here's the thing. There will be NO consequences for all the lying even when every fucker knows it's blatant fabrication and lies. That's why we are where we are. There are no consequences.

I've only heard of it in the context of someone lying. (In cases of infidelity, usually, when there was very good evidence.) It's so extreme it smacks of desperation.

Call me cynical, but I think the speed with which it was looked into and concluded is a bit suspicious. These things usually drag on and on.

One explanation is that it was so serious that it was expedited. Another one is that TM wanted it done, dusted and hopefully moved on from before anyone had time to look any further into it.

I'm not convinced that he hasn't been made the patsy. And I can't stand the man, BTW.

Actually, when someone's in-depth claims sound a little incredible to me, it is entirely appropriate to use this woman retort to Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.

When Stephen Yaxley-Lennon pontificated forth how he 'knew about things', a woman asked him if he was just spouting any old sh1t.

The woman, who is holding on to the handle of a pram with a baby inside, later tells Mr Robinson: “Well I don’t know about these things, do I?”

When he says “I do”, the woman retorts: “Do you really, or are you just spouting any old s?”

This is now doing a Stephen Yaxley-Lennon in my book. Others may think he was speaking truth, but that is not my view.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/tommy-robinson-salford-video-woman-pram-european-parliament-elections-a8894411.html

Massively unprofessional to drag his DC into it, and it's a revolting thing to say.

The only time I've heard of people saying it is on here, when men say it when they're suspected of cheating (and are almost always lying). I didn't know about his affair but if he cheated on his wife, I wonder if he used that phrase then too so it came naturally to him when accused.

OTOH with the nefarious types in the cabinet / Tory party at the moment it wouldn't suprise me if he'd been framed either.

HOW can TM fuck up so badly yet again, insisting on a dodgy course of action against all advice? What did she think would happen? Doh.

I think Williamson is taking the rap for this on behalf of his department which is how cabinet government is supposed to work after all.

My theory is that his phone was in the hands of one of his bods somehow and they leaked the information. May has sacked him because he is responsible for his department and acting quickly saves face for her because let's face it, she isn't Mrs Popularity at the moment is she?

I do believe Williamson when he says he wasn't the leak but someone within his dept is.

As for the 'on his children's lives' stuff, it's rather juvenile and is the kind of thing I used to come out with when I was eight.

I think if he'd said something like i will clear my name or resign and I welcome a police investigation and this is the reason why I didn't co operate with the security services investigation, and this is the evidence they have and why I can dispute it, I'd have more respect.

But just saying I swear on my kids life it wasn't me, and I've dug her out a few holes before, so a shame she didn't remember that, is fairly despicable in my opinion.

handslikecowstits As I understand it, even GW doesn’t deny that he was the person on the call. His denial centres on the content of the conversation.

In that case then the plot thickens. I'm still inclined to believe that he was incompetent rather than malicious. He has always sounded as though he was a bit thick to me.

Labour voter btw.

I believe him.

Apparently he met with the journalist who reported the story.
That is almost certainly the 'compelling evidence' Theresa May is talking about.

I don't find it compelling evidence at all.
Who leaked it? Don't know, but I'd bet whoever did leak it didn't diarize a meeting with the journalist covering the issue.

Sorry, phone call, wasn't it? Same though.

MrsBethel what is the evidence that there was a meeting with the journalist, as opposed to the (apparently admitted) phone call?

X-post

He is denying it because he has to, particularly when there are calls for a Police enquiry. He could then be subject to prosecution.

I don't know whether he has done it, but if he has used that phrase, well they are the words used by cornered and desperate people who have done something pretty disastrous. Another hated phrase is "I swear down", yep you did it and when confronted they are "gutted" or "devastated".

PM has got to be pretty sure; it is quick, decisive action on her part and she is fuming. It is also the worst day possible for her with the local elections. That said, she's had plenty of worst days possible.

Labour should have them on the ropes and I understand Tom Watson has raised a question in Westminster this, but it is also reported he has stormed out of a meeting with JM. Sort yourselves out.

Or JC even.

Tom Watson is always getting fecked off with JC. I'm not TW's biggest fan but he comes across like an adult who wants to get stuff done, but can't because he has to deal with a stubborn toddler.

It's all straight out of Borgen, except more so.

One point to note is that even if the police did investigate, the decision whether to prosecute under the Official Secrets Act would lie with the Attorney-General. So the Government could shut this down even after a full criminal investigation.

Just when you think there really can't be an incident or situation which shows even more clearly that practically everyone in government today is woefully inadequate to the task... along comes something else.

Utterly unprofessional and WTF?!

Just confirms the sort of total arse I’ve always thought he is.

Analysts on Today this morning were suggesting he’s basically playing semantics. That there’s a very well known language between journos and politicians who don’t want to give direct quotes which means they don’t have to actually say “TM wants to use Huawei” in those words but they say it nonetheless, in well understood code. reports are all suggesting that’s exactly what he did. He had an 11 minute phone conversation with the Telegraph journalist in question very soon after leaving the meeting (presumably why he was uncooperative about handing it over). But didn’t discuss the meeting, apparently 😂
Was going to say bet his wife is furious with him, but then if she was so dimwitted as to become Mrs. W in the first place, maybe not. She brought it on herself, idiot.

I knew about someone who swore something over his dead wife's grave - in the actual spot - that he then went back on.
Some people are just capable of it, and lots of people who aren't find it hard to believe that people can be so duplicitous.

Does anyone actually believe that his children will be put to death, if when we discover he was the leak?

If not, then swearing on other peoples lives (why not your own life?! Why get your children involved?! I bet that poor girl didn't even want a burger...) is completely pointless and something that someone who is happy to break the Official Secrets Act would probably do in a heartbeat.