Theresa May has refused to release the Huawei leak report to Gavin Williamson as he continued to protest against his sacking – or even say it exists.
The prime minister also declined to say she is “convinced” that her former defence secretary was the guilty party, despite earlier claiming there was “compelling evidence”.
The stance is certain to inflame the anger of Mr Williamson’s supporters, after he said he was the victim of a “vendetta” and his dismissal was “politically motivated”.
Meanwhile, there will be no criminal investigation into the affair – after the government refused to refer it to the police, despite experts warning of a breach of the Official Secrets Act.
Ms May was asked three times if she would bow to Mr Williamson’s request to be handed a copy of the conclusions reached by Mark Sedwill, the national security adviser, but refused to budge.
“This was an inquiry that was properly conducted,” she told Sky News. “As a result of that, I took the decision that it was necessary for the secretary of state for defence to leave his post.”
Meanwhile, quizzed by The Independent, Downing Street would not say if the report existed in physical form, or whether Sir Mark’s verdict had simply been delivered verbally.
1/50 3 May 2019
Leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable addresses the media with activists outside Chelmsford City Council Civic Centre. In local election results, the Liberal Democrats – who oppose Brexit, gained 26 seats giving them control of Chelmsford City Council in Essex, a Brexit stronghold. The two main parties, Labour and the Conservatives, lost seats. This is believed to be attributed to frustration at the lack of progress in the continuing Brexit negotiations
Getty
2/50 2 May 2019
Whipsnade Zoo’s new baby giraffe, Khari, with his mother Luna. The reticulated giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) was born to first time mum Luna and dad Bashu at midday on April 26, and his name, Khari, means ‘King-like’ in Swahili, because of his regal-looking ossicones – the tiny crown-like horns on a giraffe’s head. Giraffe calves weigh more than the twenty times the average 7lbs human when they’re born, weighing in at around 150lbs at birth
Whipsnade Zoo/PA
3/50 1 May 2019
Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange, in a prison van, as he leaves Southwark Crown Court in London. He was sentenced to 50 week in prison for breaching his bail conditions. Assange was found guilty of breaching the Bail Act in April after his arrest after spending seven years in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London
EPA
4/50 30 April 2019
Coco, aged 11, runs through 181 pairs of wellies, as they go on display to represent the average number of people rescued by The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) every week in the UK and Ireland at Potters Fields Park in London. There are 4,900 volunteer crew members supporting 238 lifeboat stations. RNLI’s annual Mayday fundraising campaign aims to raise £700,000 to fund lifesaving kit. Following the campaign, the yellow wellies from the installation will be available to purchase, in exchange for a small donation
PA
5/50 29 April 2019
Buster the Golden Retriever, belonging to David Torrance MSP, at this year’s Holyrood Dog of the Year competition, organised jointly by Dogs Trust and the Kennel Club at the Scottish Parliament Gardens in Edinburgh.
PA
6/50 28 April 2019
Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk poses with his PFA Player of the Year award
PA
7/50 27 April 2019
Cyclists lay down as they take part in the Extinction Rebellion protest at the Tate Modern in London, Britain
REUTERS
8/50 26 April 2019
Liberal Democratic Party leader Vince Cable speaks at a launch event for the party’s candidates for the European Parliament election in London
AFP/Getty
9/50 25 April 2019
Extinction Rebellion protesters (left to right) Alan Heath, 55, research scientist, Jen Witts, 38, support worker for vulnerable people, Sian Vaughan 53, retired head teacher, Debbie Rees, 57, Gardener and artist, Kef Shimidzu, 55, tutor and learning support worker, Lucy Galvin, 53, civil servant and Johnny Woon, 60, retired, glued themselves to the entrances of the London Stock Exchange in the City of London
PA
10/50 24 April 2019
Engineers from the Canal and River Trust repair a leak at the base of a deep 200 year old, Grade II listed lock in Gloucester, where the tidal River Severn meets Gloucester Docks in the city and a specially manufactured steel dam is now holding back the river water, with more than 100 tonnes of accumulated silt being removed from the damaged area of the lock so that the team can undertake repairs
PA
11/50 23 April 2019
Amateur James Cahill celebrates beating snooker world number one, Ronnie O’Sullivan, in the first round of the World Championship. In arguably the biggest shock in the tournament’s history, Cahill held his nerve to beat five-time champion O’Sullivan 10-8 at the Crucible
PA
12/50 22 April 2019
Extinction Rebellion climate change activists perform a mass “die in” under the blue whale in the foyer of the Natural History Museum in London, on the eighth day of the environmental group’s protest calling for political change to combat climate change. Some 963 arrests have been made and 42 people charged in connection with the ongoing protests
AFP/Getty
13/50 21 April 2019
Firefighters tackle a large fire on Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire
PA
14/50 20 April 2019
Police officers remove a potted plant that was placed in the occupation of Waterloo Bridge in London by Extinction Rebellion protesters
EPA
15/50 19 April 2019
British actress Emma Thompson gives an address from the stage atop the pink boat to climate change activists occupying the road junction at Oxford Circus in central London during the fifth day of environmental protests by the Extinction Rebellion group
AFP/Getty
16/50 18 April 2019
A burning car in Creggan, Londonderry after petrol bombs were thrown at police. Belfast Journalist Lyra McKee was killed during the riots. Police Service of Northern Ireland said that McKee was allegedly shot while reporting on clashes with dissident republican rioters
PA
17/50 17 April 2019
Members of the so called ‘Red Brigade’ march in disobedience on the street from Oxford Circus to Piccadilly Circus to protest in London. The group Extinction Rebellion is calling for a week of civil disobedience against what it says is the failure to tackle the causes of climate change
AP
18/50 16 April 2019
Extinction Rebellion demonstrators camp near Marble Arch, London, as more than 100 people have been arrested as police deal with ongoing climate change protests
PA
19/50 15 April 2019
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn tries his hand at archery during a visit to Sunnyvale Fishery and Outdoor Activity centre, a youth crime reduction project in Calderdale
PA
20/50 14 April 2019
A woman photographs blossoming tulips in Holland Park
PA
21/50 13 April 2019
Lincoln City’s Bruno Andrade (left) and Shay McCartan celebrate being promoted after their Sky Bet League Two match at Sincil Bank, Lincoln
PA
22/50 12 April 2019
Supporters march during the YouthStrike4Climate demonstration in central London
AFP/Getty
23/50 11 April 2019
The Milky Way and millions of stars over Dinstanburgh Castle in the early hours of the morning. Dunstanburgh Castle is a 14th-century fortification on the coast of Northumberland in northern England, between the villages of Craster and Embleton. The castle was built by Earl Thomas of Lancaster between 1313 and 1322
PA
24/50 10 April 2019
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May react during an extraordinary European Union leaders summit to discuss Brexit, in Brussels
Reuters
25/50 9 April 2019
England’s Ellen White celebrates after her side go 1-0 up against Spain during their friendly match at the Energy Check County Ground, Swindon. The Lionesses went on to win 2-1
PA
26/50 8 April 2019
Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn and fellow Labour MPs welcome the newly elected MP for Newport West, Ruth Jones (right), to the Houses of Parliament
PA
27/50 7 April 2019
James Cracknell celebrates after winning the Men’s Boat Race with Cambridge. Former Olympic and World Champion Cracknell, 46, became the oldest entrant in Boat Race history, qualifying after taking up a Master of Philosophy degree in human evolution
Getty
28/50 6 April 2019
Davy Russell, riding Tiger Roll, celebrates winning the Random Health Grand National at Aintree racecourse in Liverpool. He became the first horse since Red Rum to win back-to-back renewals
EPA
29/50 5 April 2019
Activists in hazmat suits and masks stop traffic in west London in a protest accusing authorities of lying after cancer-causing chemicals were found in soil close to Grenfell Tower
PA
30/50 4 April 2019
England football manager Gareth Southgate with the OBE that he received at an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace, London
PA
31/50 3 April 2019
Newborn lambs in a snow covered field near Allendale, Northumberland, after temperatures dipped below freezing overnight. Hill snow, sleet, showers and gales are expected for parts of the UK as the chilly snap keeps hold.
PA
32/50 2 April 2019
Armathwaite Hall hotel in Keswick, Cumbria holds Lemoga classes with the lemurs from Lake District Wild Life Park, who were mingling with the class to create a personal yoga experience which aims to heighten the sense of wellbeing for both lemur and human. With their friendly, outgoing personalities and love for human contact, lemurs make the perfect yoga buddies, helping people to laugh, unwind and stretch away their troubles
PA
33/50 1 April 2019
Fire fighters attend to two police cars that were destroyed after being set on fire outside Goldthorpe police station in South Yorkshire in a suspected arson attack
PA
34/50 31 March 2019
Forensics teams work at the scene of a stabbing in Edmonton in London. Four people have been stabbed in a spate of knife attacks in the north of the capital over the weekend
Getty
35/50 30 March 2019
Workers from the Honda plant in Swindon during a protest march through the town as the car giant will be urged to reverse its decision to close its UK plant
Unite South West/PA
36/50 29 March 2019
Pro-Brexit protesters outside Westminster as MPs voted on a Government motion on the EU withdrawal
PA
37/50 28 March 2019
England football captain Harry Kane is made an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) by the Duke of Cambridge during an Investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace
PA
38/50 27 March 2019
Gallery staff give a final dusting to the ‘Olympe’ sculpture by Aspencrow, modelled on Cara Delevingne and an interpretation of Medusa, as it is unveiled at the JD Malay Gallery in Mayfair, London
PA
39/50 26 March 2019
PD Marci with handler PC Neil Billany, PD Kai with handler PC Jean Pearce, PD Bruno with handler Rob Smith, PD Delta with handler PC Mark Snoxhall, PDSA vet Rosamund Ford, and PD Dave with handler PC Andy Salter at Borough market in London where the dogs were honoured with the PDSA Order of Merit for helping emergency services during the 2017 London terror attacks at Westminster Bridge, London Bridge and Borough Market
PA
40/50 25 March 2019
Britain’s Attorney General Geoffrey Cox arrives in Downing street, London for a cabinet meeting. British Prime Minister Theresa May will today chair a potentially volatile meeting of her cabinet amid reports of an attempted coup by colleagues over her handling of Brexit.
AFP/Getty
41/50 24 March 2019
Workers peeling off stickers left on the Cabinet Office door on Whitehall, London, left by anti-Brexit campaigners after they took part in the People’s Vote March
PA
42/50 23 March 2019
Protesters take part in the Put It To The People March on Whitehall in London. Thousands of protesters gathered for the march from Park Lane to Parliament Square calling for a public vote on the Governments final Brexit deal
Getty
43/50 22 March 2019
Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May leaves after a news briefing after meeting with EU leaders in Brussels
Reuters
44/50 21 March 2019
The mosque and community centre on Albert Road in Birmingham where a police forensic team are at work after it had its windows smashed with a sledgehammer. An investigation involving counter-terrorism officers has been launched after four mosques in the Birmingham area were attacked overnight
PA
45/50 20 March 2019
Gallery technicians install Edvard Munch’s The Scream at the British Museum in London, ahead of the opening of Edvard Munch: love and angst exhibition, which runs from 11 April to 21 July
PA
46/50 19 March 2019
The ‘tall ship’ William II passes a wind turbine as it sails along the north east coast near Whitley Bay in Tyne and Wear after it set off from Blyth in Northumberland on a voyage round the coastline of Great Britain calling at 10 ports en route and changing crews at each stage. The Blyth Tall Ship project is a charity working alongside Blyth community volunteers to recapture the spirit of adventure that was employed in the town to discover the Antarctic 200 years ago and the turbine is part of a pilot field operated by EDF off Blyth which uses concrete float-and-submerge foundations
PA
47/50 18 March 2019
Messenger, the largest bronze cast sculpture in the UK, arrives in Plymouth Sound by barge as it makes its way to be installed outside Theater Royal Plymouth, Devon
PA
48/50 17 March 2019
Flooding in Silsdend, Yorkshire. Heavy rain has caused widespread flooding across the country. Flood warnings remain in place across the UK
PA
49/50 16 March 2019
Police at the scene in Fulham, west London where a 29-year-old man was stabbed to death this morning. The Metropolitan Police said it was called “to reports of a fight in progress” by ambulance crews and arrived on the scene at about 12.27am. The victim was found with stab wounds and died at the scene at 12.56am despite attempts by paramedics and members of the public to save his life
PA
50/50 15 March 2019
Schoolchildren gather around Queen Victoria Memorial at Buckingham Palace as they take part in a student climate protest in London. Thousands of pupils from schools, colleges and universities across the UK will walk out in the second major strike against climate change this year. Young people nationwide are calling on the Government to declare a climate emergency and take action. Similar strikes are taking place around the world today including in Japan and Australia, inspired by 16-year-old Greta Thunberg who criticised world leaders at a United Nations climate conference
Getty
1/50 3 May 2019
Leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable addresses the media with activists outside Chelmsford City Council Civic Centre. In local election results, the Liberal Democrats – who oppose Brexit, gained 26 seats giving them control of Chelmsford City Council in Essex, a Brexit stronghold. The two main parties, Labour and the Conservatives, lost seats. This is believed to be attributed to frustration at the lack of progress in the continuing Brexit negotiations
Getty
2/50 2 May 2019
Whipsnade Zoo’s new baby giraffe, Khari, with his mother Luna. The reticulated giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) was born to first time mum Luna and dad Bashu at midday on April 26, and his name, Khari, means ‘King-like’ in Swahili, because of his regal-looking ossicones – the tiny crown-like horns on a giraffe’s head. Giraffe calves weigh more than the twenty times the average 7lbs human when they’re born, weighing in at around 150lbs at birth
Whipsnade Zoo/PA
3/50 1 May 2019
Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange, in a prison van, as he leaves Southwark Crown Court in London. He was sentenced to 50 week in prison for breaching his bail conditions. Assange was found guilty of breaching the Bail Act in April after his arrest after spending seven years in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London
EPA
4/50 30 April 2019
Coco, aged 11, runs through 181 pairs of wellies, as they go on display to represent the average number of people rescued by The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) every week in the UK and Ireland at Potters Fields Park in London. There are 4,900 volunteer crew members supporting 238 lifeboat stations. RNLI’s annual Mayday fundraising campaign aims to raise £700,000 to fund lifesaving kit. Following the campaign, the yellow wellies from the installation will be available to purchase, in exchange for a small donation
PA
5/50 29 April 2019
Buster the Golden Retriever, belonging to David Torrance MSP, at this year’s Holyrood Dog of the Year competition, organised jointly by Dogs Trust and the Kennel Club at the Scottish Parliament Gardens in Edinburgh.
PA
6/50 28 April 2019
Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk poses with his PFA Player of the Year award
PA
7/50 27 April 2019
Cyclists lay down as they take part in the Extinction Rebellion protest at the Tate Modern in London, Britain
REUTERS
8/50 26 April 2019
Liberal Democratic Party leader Vince Cable speaks at a launch event for the party’s candidates for the European Parliament election in London
AFP/Getty
9/50 25 April 2019
Extinction Rebellion protesters (left to right) Alan Heath, 55, research scientist, Jen Witts, 38, support worker for vulnerable people, Sian Vaughan 53, retired head teacher, Debbie Rees, 57, Gardener and artist, Kef Shimidzu, 55, tutor and learning support worker, Lucy Galvin, 53, civil servant and Johnny Woon, 60, retired, glued themselves to the entrances of the London Stock Exchange in the City of London
PA
10/50 24 April 2019
Engineers from the Canal and River Trust repair a leak at the base of a deep 200 year old, Grade II listed lock in Gloucester, where the tidal River Severn meets Gloucester Docks in the city and a specially manufactured steel dam is now holding back the river water, with more than 100 tonnes of accumulated silt being removed from the damaged area of the lock so that the team can undertake repairs
PA
11/50 23 April 2019
Amateur James Cahill celebrates beating snooker world number one, Ronnie O’Sullivan, in the first round of the World Championship. In arguably the biggest shock in the tournament’s history, Cahill held his nerve to beat five-time champion O’Sullivan 10-8 at the Crucible
PA
12/50 22 April 2019
Extinction Rebellion climate change activists perform a mass “die in” under the blue whale in the foyer of the Natural History Museum in London, on the eighth day of the environmental group’s protest calling for political change to combat climate change. Some 963 arrests have been made and 42 people charged in connection with the ongoing protests
AFP/Getty
13/50 21 April 2019
Firefighters tackle a large fire on Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire
PA
14/50 20 April 2019
Police officers remove a potted plant that was placed in the occupation of Waterloo Bridge in London by Extinction Rebellion protesters
EPA
15/50 19 April 2019
British actress Emma Thompson gives an address from the stage atop the pink boat to climate change activists occupying the road junction at Oxford Circus in central London during the fifth day of environmental protests by the Extinction Rebellion group
AFP/Getty
16/50 18 April 2019
A burning car in Creggan, Londonderry after petrol bombs were thrown at police. Belfast Journalist Lyra McKee was killed during the riots. Police Service of Northern Ireland said that McKee was allegedly shot while reporting on clashes with dissident republican rioters
PA
17/50 17 April 2019
Members of the so called ‘Red Brigade’ march in disobedience on the street from Oxford Circus to Piccadilly Circus to protest in London. The group Extinction Rebellion is calling for a week of civil disobedience against what it says is the failure to tackle the causes of climate change
AP
18/50 16 April 2019
Extinction Rebellion demonstrators camp near Marble Arch, London, as more than 100 people have been arrested as police deal with ongoing climate change protests
PA
19/50 15 April 2019
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn tries his hand at archery during a visit to Sunnyvale Fishery and Outdoor Activity centre, a youth crime reduction project in Calderdale
PA
20/50 14 April 2019
A woman photographs blossoming tulips in Holland Park
PA
21/50 13 April 2019
Lincoln City’s Bruno Andrade (left) and Shay McCartan celebrate being promoted after their Sky Bet League Two match at Sincil Bank, Lincoln
PA
22/50 12 April 2019
Supporters march during the YouthStrike4Climate demonstration in central London
AFP/Getty
23/50 11 April 2019
The Milky Way and millions of stars over Dinstanburgh Castle in the early hours of the morning. Dunstanburgh Castle is a 14th-century fortification on the coast of Northumberland in northern England, between the villages of Craster and Embleton. The castle was built by Earl Thomas of Lancaster between 1313 and 1322
PA
24/50 10 April 2019
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May react during an extraordinary European Union leaders summit to discuss Brexit, in Brussels
Reuters
25/50 9 April 2019
England’s Ellen White celebrates after her side go 1-0 up against Spain during their friendly match at the Energy Check County Ground, Swindon. The Lionesses went on to win 2-1
PA
26/50 8 April 2019
Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn and fellow Labour MPs welcome the newly elected MP for Newport West, Ruth Jones (right), to the Houses of Parliament
PA
27/50 7 April 2019
James Cracknell celebrates after winning the Men’s Boat Race with Cambridge. Former Olympic and World Champion Cracknell, 46, became the oldest entrant in Boat Race history, qualifying after taking up a Master of Philosophy degree in human evolution
Getty
28/50 6 April 2019
Davy Russell, riding Tiger Roll, celebrates winning the Random Health Grand National at Aintree racecourse in Liverpool. He became the first horse since Red Rum to win back-to-back renewals
EPA
29/50 5 April 2019
Activists in hazmat suits and masks stop traffic in west London in a protest accusing authorities of lying after cancer-causing chemicals were found in soil close to Grenfell Tower
PA
30/50 4 April 2019
England football manager Gareth Southgate with the OBE that he received at an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace, London
PA
31/50 3 April 2019
Newborn lambs in a snow covered field near Allendale, Northumberland, after temperatures dipped below freezing overnight. Hill snow, sleet, showers and gales are expected for parts of the UK as the chilly snap keeps hold.
PA
32/50 2 April 2019
Armathwaite Hall hotel in Keswick, Cumbria holds Lemoga classes with the lemurs from Lake District Wild Life Park, who were mingling with the class to create a personal yoga experience which aims to heighten the sense of wellbeing for both lemur and human. With their friendly, outgoing personalities and love for human contact, lemurs make the perfect yoga buddies, helping people to laugh, unwind and stretch away their troubles
PA
33/50 1 April 2019
Fire fighters attend to two police cars that were destroyed after being set on fire outside Goldthorpe police station in South Yorkshire in a suspected arson attack
PA
34/50 31 March 2019
Forensics teams work at the scene of a stabbing in Edmonton in London. Four people have been stabbed in a spate of knife attacks in the north of the capital over the weekend
Getty
35/50 30 March 2019
Workers from the Honda plant in Swindon during a protest march through the town as the car giant will be urged to reverse its decision to close its UK plant
Unite South West/PA
36/50 29 March 2019
Pro-Brexit protesters outside Westminster as MPs voted on a Government motion on the EU withdrawal
PA
37/50 28 March 2019
England football captain Harry Kane is made an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) by the Duke of Cambridge during an Investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace
PA
38/50 27 March 2019
Gallery staff give a final dusting to the ‘Olympe’ sculpture by Aspencrow, modelled on Cara Delevingne and an interpretation of Medusa, as it is unveiled at the JD Malay Gallery in Mayfair, London
PA
39/50 26 March 2019
PD Marci with handler PC Neil Billany, PD Kai with handler PC Jean Pearce, PD Bruno with handler Rob Smith, PD Delta with handler PC Mark Snoxhall, PDSA vet Rosamund Ford, and PD Dave with handler PC Andy Salter at Borough market in London where the dogs were honoured with the PDSA Order of Merit for helping emergency services during the 2017 London terror attacks at Westminster Bridge, London Bridge and Borough Market
PA
40/50 25 March 2019
Britain’s Attorney General Geoffrey Cox arrives in Downing street, London for a cabinet meeting. British Prime Minister Theresa May will today chair a potentially volatile meeting of her cabinet amid reports of an attempted coup by colleagues over her handling of Brexit.
AFP/Getty
41/50 24 March 2019
Workers peeling off stickers left on the Cabinet Office door on Whitehall, London, left by anti-Brexit campaigners after they took part in the People’s Vote March
PA
42/50 23 March 2019
Protesters take part in the Put It To The People March on Whitehall in London. Thousands of protesters gathered for the march from Park Lane to Parliament Square calling for a public vote on the Governments final Brexit deal
Getty
43/50 22 March 2019
Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May leaves after a news briefing after meeting with EU leaders in Brussels
Reuters
44/50 21 March 2019
The mosque and community centre on Albert Road in Birmingham where a police forensic team are at work after it had its windows smashed with a sledgehammer. An investigation involving counter-terrorism officers has been launched after four mosques in the Birmingham area were attacked overnight
PA
45/50 20 March 2019
Gallery technicians install Edvard Munch’s The Scream at the British Museum in London, ahead of the opening of Edvard Munch: love and angst exhibition, which runs from 11 April to 21 July
PA
46/50 19 March 2019
The ‘tall ship’ William II passes a wind turbine as it sails along the north east coast near Whitley Bay in Tyne and Wear after it set off from Blyth in Northumberland on a voyage round the coastline of Great Britain calling at 10 ports en route and changing crews at each stage. The Blyth Tall Ship project is a charity working alongside Blyth community volunteers to recapture the spirit of adventure that was employed in the town to discover the Antarctic 200 years ago and the turbine is part of a pilot field operated by EDF off Blyth which uses concrete float-and-submerge foundations
PA
47/50 18 March 2019
Messenger, the largest bronze cast sculpture in the UK, arrives in Plymouth Sound by barge as it makes its way to be installed outside Theater Royal Plymouth, Devon
PA
48/50 17 March 2019
Flooding in Silsdend, Yorkshire. Heavy rain has caused widespread flooding across the country. Flood warnings remain in place across the UK
PA
49/50 16 March 2019
Police at the scene in Fulham, west London where a 29-year-old man was stabbed to death this morning. The Metropolitan Police said it was called “to reports of a fight in progress” by ambulance crews and arrived on the scene at about 12.27am. The victim was found with stab wounds and died at the scene at 12.56am despite attempts by paramedics and members of the public to save his life
PA
50/50 15 March 2019
Schoolchildren gather around Queen Victoria Memorial at Buckingham Palace as they take part in a student climate protest in London. Thousands of pupils from schools, colleges and universities across the UK will walk out in the second major strike against climate change this year. Young people nationwide are calling on the Government to declare a climate emergency and take action. Similar strikes are taking place around the world today including in Japan and Australia, inspired by 16-year-old Greta Thunberg who criticised world leaders at a United Nations climate conference
Getty
Mr Williamson was fired on Wednesday, when No 10 named him as the source of a leak of the apparent decision to give Huawei a limited role in building the UK’s 5G network.
The move has angered the US, which has banned Huawei from government networks and put pressure on the UK to do the same, over fears – denied by the company – that it is a vehicle for Chinese government spies.
It had been discussed by the top-secret National Security Council – prompting suggestions that any leak from that body constituted a criminal offence.
But the Metropolitan Police insisted its hands were tied without a referral from the cabinet office, appearing to rule out a police inquiry.
In an earlier ITV interview, the prime minister would not say she was “convinced” by Mr Williamson’s guilt, and on Sky News she made clear there would be no co-operation with him.
“The importance of this was not about the information that was leaked, but where it was leaked from,” she said.
“Around that table in the National Security Council, people have to have trust in what is being said so that we can take those decisions in the best possible way.”
Mr Williamson’s fate was sealed by an 11-minute conversation with The Daily Telegraph reporter who revealed the Huawei decision and what No 10 called his lack of “candour” about its contents.
The former May ally believes that was the only evidence against him – but, in the absence of a report, it is unclear whether that is the case.