02 March 2023 , 11:06
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Furious teachers have slammed "sneering" claims from bungling ex-Education Secretary Sir Gavin Williamson that they were looking for an "excuse" not to work during the pandemic.
Leaked WhatsApps between Sir Gavin and the-then Health Secretary Matt Hancock show the pair criticising hard-working staff for wanting to ensure schools were safe.
As talks were underway to reopen classrooms in May 2020, the messages show Sir Gavin wanted to make sure PPE was provided so that schools "can't use [the shortage] as a reason not to open".
He claimed that some would want to use it as "an excuse to avoid having to teach".
In October 2020, Mr Hancock referred to the teaching unions as "a bunch of absolute arses", to which Sir Gavin responded: "They really really do just hate work.”
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The explosive comments, contained in more than 100,000 leaked WhatsApps obtained by the Telegraph, triggered a furious backlash from teachers.
Matt Hancock and Gavin Williamson leave No10 Downing Street (Leon Neal)The leak also coincides with the third day of strike action by the National Education Union (NEU), with tensions running high between unions and the Government.
ASCL boss Geoff Barton blasting the "appalling lack of respect for teachers" shown in the "snide insults" from two senior ministers.
"This sneering exchange between two Cabinet ministers at a time of the greatest national emergency since the Second World War shows an appalling lack of respect for teachers," he said.
Teachers were left to muddle through "reams of confused guidance" and left "wrong-footed by bizarre policy decisions which were then followed by an inevitable U-turn", he said.
"It was an absolute shambles and the two individuals involved in these snide insults were at the heart of that shambles.”
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT union, said he was "beyond words".
“This ugly exchange demonstrates the chaos and duplicity at the heart of government. How can any trust develop when the secret contempt for teachers and the teaching profession is laid bare like this.
"We must not forget Covid was rampant in schools and the whole school community was managing life threatening risk in the most difficult of circumstances.”
Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock (Simon Dawson / No10 Downing Street)Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the comments laid bare the contempt the Tories have for the teaching profession.
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She said: “These comments are a kick in the teeth for teachers who stretched every sinew for children during the pandemic.
"They add insult to injury at a time when fewer people are joining the profession, and when teachers are leaving classrooms in their droves.
"The Conservatives have shown us today exactly how much they value our teachers. Labour will always value the incredible work all school staff do."
Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said teachers and school staff worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic.
She said: "The education unions listened to the science and acted to protect the school community when the Government was doing neither.
Teachers are taking strike action over pay (Daily Mirror)"Government dragged their feet over providing laptops for children most in need, while it took the footballer Marcus Rashford to shame them into Free School Meals provision during the school holidays.
"Evidence that could have curbed the impact of Covid, resulting in wider lockdowns, was ignored, and they gave consistently late information to head teachers on the latest measures being imposed by Government on schools and colleges. It was nothing short of a shambles.
“The Education Secretary was clearly out of his depth and, we now hear, contemptuous of unions and teachers.
"Given the current dispute with the Department for Education over teacher pay, we sincerely hope Gillian Keegan does not share this attitude and gets around the table to discuss a resolution to the pay dispute.”
Sir Gavin tried to claim that his comments were only about some unions rather than teachers themselves.
He tweeted: "As demonstrated in the exchange, I was responding regarding unions.
Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the remarks were a 'kick in the teeth' (Getty Images)"I have the utmost respect for teachers who work tirelessly to support students. During the pandemic, teachers went above and beyond during very challenging times and very much continue to do so."
Mr Hancock's spokesman did not respond to requests for comment on the messages regarding teachers.
In a broader statement, he blasted journalist Isabel Oakeshott for a "massive betrayal and breach of trust" in leaking his WhatsApp messages, which he shared when the pair collaborated on his pandemic diaries.
"I am also sorry for the impact on the very many people - political colleagues, civil servants and friends - who worked hard with me to get through the pandemic and save lives," he said.
"There is absolutely no public interest case for this huge breach. All the materials for the book have already been made available to the Inquiry, which is the right, and only, place for everything to be considered properly and the right lessons to be learned.
"As we have seen, releasing them in this way gives a partial, biased account to suit an anti-lockdown agenda."