- Rising Tory star called brief office romance with a colleague ‘a dreadful mistake’
- Became involved with married woman in 2004 while manager at a fireplace firm
- Mr Williamson, touted as a future party leader, said wife Joanne had forgiven him
- He insisted that the relationship had not gone beyond kisses ‘a couple of times’
By Vanessa Allen for the Daily Mail
Published: 22:00 GMT, 25 January 2018 | Updated: 22:00 GMT, 25 January 2018
New Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson confessed last night to a fling that threatened to end his marriage.
The rising Tory star, touted as a possible party leader, admitted that the brief office romance with a former colleague ‘a dreadful mistake’ but said his wife Joanne had forgiven him.
Mr Williamson, 41, who was made Defence Secretary following the resignation of Sir Michael Fallon over sexual harassment claims, insisted the relationship had not gone beyond kisses ‘a couple of times’.
It occurred before he embarked on a career in politics but he is understood to have revealed details to party officials when he first ran for selection as an MP more than a decade ago. He has also told Downing Street.
Gavin Williamson admitted that the brief office romance with a former colleague ‘a dreadful mistake’ but said his wife Joanne (pictured) had forgiven him
Mr Williamson was made Defence Secretary by Theresa May (pictured) following the resignation of Sir Michael Fallon over sexual harassment claims
Mr Williamson told the Daily Mail he became involved with the married woman in 2004, while working as a manager at fireplace manufacturer Elgin & Hall in Yorkshire.
‘I had a good relationship with everyone I worked with, but with one person this started to develop into something more,’ he said.
‘We had to travel together and spent a lot of time in each other’s company, the relationship became flirtatious and a couple of times we shared a kiss.
‘It never went further than that, but this had a profound impact on us both and those close to us. It was a dreadful mistake and stopped as suddenly as it had started.
‘I know that this caused problems for her, as it did for me. And having to explain to Joanne what had happened was one of the most difficult conversations of my life.
‘I’ll never truly understand how she found it in her heart to forgive me, but I tell myself every day how lucky I am to be with such an amazing person.’
Mr Williamson said he had decided to quit his job as he had not wanted a constant reminder of his infidelity.
Mrs Williamson, a former primary school teacher, gave birth to their first child in late 2004. It was not clear whether her husband’s fling took place while she was pregnant.
Mr Williamson is pictured with Sir Gordon Messenger, the Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff (left), and Colonel John Clark (right)
The couple now have two daughters and the Defence Secretary said his family was central to his life.
‘My family means everything to me and I almost threw it away… This incident nearly destroyed two marriages,’ he said.
‘It will always be part of my past, but has not stopped my wife and I from building a wonderful family together.
‘I no longer sell fireplaces and have built a career in politics. Family will always be central to what I do and what I believe in.
‘It was the experience of nearly losing mine that made me realise how much mine really matters to me.’
A year after the fling, Mr Williamson made his first attempt to become an MP, unsucessfully contesting Blackpool North and Fleetwood at the 2005 election.
As part of the Tory selection process, candidates are asked to declare any peccadilloes from their past.
He became MP for South Staffordshire in 2010 and has had a rapid rise at Westminster.
Theresa May appointed him as her Chief Whip on becoming Prime Minister and he helped to broker the deal with the Democratic Unionist Party to boost her Parliamentary majority.
As Chief Whip, Mr Williamson was credited for quashing a leadership plot against Mrs May after her disastrous party conference speech last year.
Mr Williamson outed the ringleader – former Tory chairman Grant Shapps – in the Press and the attempted coup fizzled out.
He was also reported to have been among the senior advisers who told the Prime Minister that Sir Michael Fallon would have to resign over the sleaze allegations.
Sir Michael became engulfed in the Westminster sleaze scandal when a journalist told Downing Street he had attempted to kiss her during a lunch meeting .
Mr Williamson then became the youngest Defence Secretary since the role was created during the Second World War, leap-frogging more experienced ministers to take the role in November.
Last night sources said Mr Williamson did not believe the revelation of a fling with a former colleague was a resignation matter and denied there had been any element of sexual harassment in their relationship, although he was senior to her at their firm.
Mr Williamson was born to Labour-supporting parents Ray, a local government worker, and Beverley, a job centre worker, in Scarborough, North Yorkshire.
He met his future wife at Scarborough Sixth Form College before studying social sciences at Bradford University.
He was the national chairman of Conservative Students and became a county councillor in 2001.
He also co-owned a Staffordshire pottery firm and was managing director of an architectural design company.
After he was elected in 2010 he was Prime Minister David Cameron’s parliamentary private secretary for three years and he was made a CBE for political and public service in Mr Cameron’s 2016 resignation honours list.
He pledged allegiance to MrsMay when she stood as leader, and became her Chief Whip, tasked with enforcing party discipline.
He forged a reputation for cunning and ruthlessness which saw him dubbed ‘the baby-faced assassin’, and he was known for keeping a pet Mexican tarantula, Cronus, in a glass box on his desk.
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