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Who is Education Secretary Gavin Williamson?

GAVIN Williamson is the acting Secretary of State for Education and has been the MP for South Staffs since May 2010.

The son of Yorkshire Labour voters, he was re-instated by Boris Johnson into the cabinet as Education Secretary in on July 24 2019 — but who is he?

Who is Gavin Williamson?

Gavin Williamson was born in June 1976 in Scarborough, North Yorkshire.

Coming from a working class background, he studied politics at A-Level before going on to obtain a BSc in Social Sciences from the University of Bradford.

He is married to former primary school teacher named Joanne and they have two daughters, Annabel and Grace.

Williamson's career within the Conservative party

He has been a fervent and active Tory supporter since his teens, holding the chair of Conservative Students.

He became a North Yorkshire councillor at the age of 27.

After standing down in 2005, Mr Williamson moved to Derbyshire to work in the pottery industry and continued his work in local Conservative politics.

He stood unsuccessfully in the 2005 General Election but was elected in 2010 to the South Staffordshire seat.

Mr Williamson served as Parliamentary Private Secretary for two ministers before becoming Prime Minister David Cameron's PPS in 2013.

A Remainer, Williamson is a close ally of Theresa May and helped secure her successful leadership bid.

Mrs May rewarded him by handing him the job of Chief Whip in July 2016 — and reports said he would scare wayward MPs into line with his pet tarantula Cronus.

In the 2016 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours, Williamson was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) "for political and public service".

He was Chief Whip (Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury) from 14 July 2016 to 2 November 2017.

He was then promoted to Secretary of State for Defence from 2 November 2017 to 1 May 2019 when he got sacked for leaking documents from a spies' summit.

The Cabinet minister was confronted by Theresa May and accused of breaking his vow to keep Government secrets.

He allegedly told journalists that Theresa May was planning to allow Chinese state-linked firm Huawei to build Britain's mobile network despite spooks' fears the company is a massive security risk.

He has vehemently defended his innocence since, telling The Sun: "I did not leak this, and to my dying day I will keep on insisting that."

However in spite of calls for prosecution, Williamson was appointed Secretary of State for Education on 24 July 2019.

Who is his wife and what's he said about his past fling?

The rising Tory star is married to Joanne, a former primary school teacher. She gave birth to their first child in late 2004.

He has now admitted having a fling with a married colleague behind his wife's back.

Mr Williamson claims his office romance took place before he entered the world of politics and describes it as "a dreadful mistake".

He said having to explain to wife Joanne about his fling was one of the most "difficult conversations" of his life, and told how his family "means everything to me" and he "almost threw it away".

thesun

Sir Tom Jones and Little Mix pay tribute to NHS staff during One World concert

Sir Tom Jones, Little Mix and Michael Buble paid emotional tributes to healthcare staff during an evening celebrating frontline workers fighting the Covid-19 crisis.

The BBC’s coverage of One World: Together At Home featured highlights from the global event held on Saturday night, which was staged in conjunction with Global Citizen and the World Health Organisation (WHO) and was announced by Lady Gaga, as well as UK exclusives.

Sir Tom performed The Glory Of Love, which has been recorded by Jimmy Durante, Dean Martin and Nina Simone and said: “I’ve lived a long time, I’ve seen a lot of things, I’ve experienced a lot of things.”

Gesturing to a photograph behind him, he added: “Like this house for instance right here, that’s 44 Laura Street, where I was born and brought up.

“I was isolated there for two years with tuberculosis in that house, and I thought that was bad then.

“But the National Health Service helped me then like they’re helping all of us right now.

“So I would like to say thank you so much to the National Health for doing what they did for me then and what they’re doing right now for everybody else and we have to do our best to stay home to help the National Health, we should stay home.

“And follow orders and go along with what we’re being told to do.  

“Stick with it, be together and we’ll survive.

“God Bless You.”

Little Mix performed their hit Touch and band member Perrie Edwards said: “We wanted to say hi and we really hope you guys are being positive during this weird, weird time that we are in and I think we can all agree that the love that we feel for the NHS staff at this time and the key workers, doctors, nurses, carers, retail workers, postmen, waste collectors, the list goes on and on.

“You all deserve such a huge thank you and we appreciate you so so so much.

“Everybody please take care of yourselves, take care of your loved ones, stay home, save lives, protect the NHS.”

Meanwhile, Buble performed the Beach Boys classic God Only Knows and said: “We’re here tonight to thank and to celebrate all those incredible frontline healthcare workers and all the people in essential services who day after day have gone and risked their lives to save ours.

“On behalf of my own family, I love you dearly. 

“You are the real superheroes and right now I’d like very much to dedicate this song to all of you. 

“I hope you like it.”

The broadcast, hosted by Clara Amfo, Claudia Winkleman and Dermot O’Leary, featured highlights from the US show, which was livestreamed around the world, including performances from Taylor Swift, Steve Wonder, Billie Eilish, Sir Elton John and the Rolling Stones, as well as Sir Paul McCartney talking about his mother Mary, who was a nurse and midwife during and after Second World War.

It also featured surprises for UK healthcare workers, including Sam Halliwell, 33, who is a midwife at Birmingham Women’s Hospital and living in a hotel to protect her husband, who has a severe kidney illness.

During a call with her daughter Rosie, nine, The Call The Midwife and Harry Potter fan was surprised to be joined by Miriam Margolyes, who plays Mother Mildred in the medical drama, as well as Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films.

The show, to support the Covid-19 Response Fund, set up by the UN Foundation, finished with a UK exclusive performance of You Make Me Feel My Love by The Kingdom Choir.

hampshirechronicle.

Stevie Wonder performs Lean On Me in tribute to Bill Withers at One World concert

Stevie Wonder paid tribute to the late singer Bill Withers during his appearance in the One World concert. Withers died earlier this month at the age of 81. Stevie, playing his piano from his home, said: ‘During the hardships like this, we have to lean on each other for help. ‘My friend the late Bill Withers has the perfect song about that, and I want us to remember him tonight.’

/He then performed one of his most famous songs, Lean On Me. Following that he launched into one of his own songs Love’s In Need Of Love Today.

Stevie was planning on working with the Ain’t No Sunshine singer before he died. Speaking to Billboard, he explained they had been in ‘constant contact’ and wanted to perform together. ‘We’d been texting each other,’ Stevie said. ‘He texted me in January telling me how much he appreciated me being there for him, then in February he texted about playing together.’ Stevie, 69, continued: ‘I responded that it would be my pleasure, my joy. Just let me know and I’ll be there. That’s the last message I got from him.’ The Isn’t She Lovely singer is now planning to honour Bill’s legacy with his fellow musicians by recording their own versions of the star’s hits.

‘We’ve got to show a lot of love to [Bill’s] wife and children and keep the legacy of what he left behind going ever strong. I think ever artist, at some point, should record one of his songs on their projects. ‘That’s how you keep it going. He deserves that.’ As well as Lady Gaga – who curated the One World: Together At Home concert – Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones and Oprah Winfrey also appeared. Elton John, David Beckham, Michelle Obama, Billie Eilish and Bill Gates all took part from their homes.

/metro.co