Teaching unions have reacted with fury to leaked texts sent by the former education secretary Gavin Williamson at the height of the Covid pandemic, saying they reveal the UK government’s “secret contempt for teachers”.
Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said the exchange between Williamson and the then health secretary, Matt Hancock, exposed “the chaos and duplicity at the heart of government”.
Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said it showed “an appalling lack of respect for teachers” at a time of national emergency when unions were trying to engage constructively with government.
The messages, leaked to the Telegraph, appear to show Williamson accusing teachers of looking for an “excuse” not to teach during the early stages of the Covid pandemic. In another WhatsApp exchange in October 2020, after Williamson announced a delay to exams for the following year, Hancock praised him for his “cracking announcement”, adding: “What a bunch of absolute arses the teaching unions are.”
Williamson replied: “I know they really really do just hate work.”
