RISHI Sunak has said he “obviously regrets” promoting a man branded a “pathetic bully” by Sir Keir Starmer in an excoriating attack on the Prime Minister’s judgment.

The Labour leader said Mr Sunak had been “too weak” to stand up to Sir Gavin Williamson, who quit the cabinet last night, and so was too weak to stand up for working people.

At PMQs, Sir Keir also condemned Mr Sunak for accepting Sir Gavin’s resignation “with great sadness”, and asked how his victims would feel about that.

Sir Gavin, who faced a growing list of bullying allegations, quit his post in the Cabinet Office exactly two weeks after Mr Sunak named him his minister without portfolio.

The day before Mr Sunak appointed him, then Tory party chair Sir Jake Berry warned the PM and his chief of staff that Tory HQ had received an official complaint about Sir Gavin.

Then Tory chief whip Wendy Morton had complained about a series of expletive-laden messages Sir Gavin had sent her accusing her of “rigging” the seat allocation for the Queen’s funeral service in order to exclude him and others not favoured by Liz Truss.

It then emerged Sir Gavin had been accused of bullying by a former official at the Ministry of Defence, who said he had been told to jump out of a window and slit his own throat, and engaged in “unethical and immoral” behaviour while he was chief whip.

Mr Sunak today insisted he was unaware of “any of the specific concerns” relating to Sir Gavin’s tenure as defence secretary and chief whip.

But the limited denial showed he was aware of Ms Morton’s Tory party complaint. 

Mr Sunak told MPs: “Unequivocally the behaviour complained of was unacceptable and it’s absolutely right that the right honourable gentleman has resigned.

“For the record I did not know about any of the specific concerns relating to his conduct as secretary of state or chief whip that date back some years.

“I believe that people in public life should treat others with consideration and respect and those are the principles that this Government will stand by.”

Sir Keir argued that Sir Gavin’s reputation as a “pathetic bully” was “precisely why the Prime Minister gave him a job” and asked if Mr Sunak regretted making him a minister.

Mr Sunak said: "I obviously regret appointing someone who has had to resign in the circumstances.

"But I think what the British people would like to know is that when situations like this arise, that they will be dealt with properly."

Sir Keir said everyone in the country knew someone like Sir Gavin, "a sad middle manager getting off on intimidating those beneath him".

He went on: “But everyone in the country also knows someone like the Prime Minister, the boss who is so weak, so worried the bullies will turn on him that he hides behind them. What message does he think it sends when rather than take on the bullies, he lines up alongside and thanks them for their loyalty?”

Mr Sunak replied: “The message that I clearly want to send is that integrity in public life matters and that is why it is right that [Sir Gavin] has resigned. It is why it is right that there is a rigorous process to examine these issues.

“But as well as focusing on this one individual, it also right and important that we keep delivering for the whole country and that’s why this Government will continue to concentrate on stabilising the economy, on strengthening the NHS and on tackling illegal migration, those are my priorities, those are the priorities of the British people and this Government will deliver on them.”

Sir Keir then broadened his argument against Mr Sunak, noting Shell had made £26billion in profits this year, but paid nothing under the windfall levy because of the tax breaks the UK Government gave it to keep drilling.

He said: “The problem is he can’t stand up to a run-of-the-mill bully, so he has no chance of standing up to vested interests on behalf of working people.

Mr Sunak replied: “What the party opposite will never understand is that it’s businesses investing that creates jobs in this country.”

Sir Keir countered: “There’s only one party that crashed the economy and they’re all sitting there.

“It’s a pattern with this Prime Minister. Too weak to sack the security threat sat around the Cabinet table. Too weak to take part in a leadership contest after he lost the first one. Too weak to stand up for working people.

“He spent weeks flirting with the climate change deniers in his party, then scuttled off to Cop27 at the last minute.”

Sir Keir concluded: "In the Budget next week, he’ll be too weak to end his oil and gas giveaway, scrap the non-dom tax breaks and end the farce of taxpayers subsidising private schools.

“If he can’t even stand up to a cartoon bully with a pet spider, if he’s too scared to face the public in an election, what chance has he got of running the country?”

Mr Sunak highlighted Sir Keir’s previous support for Jeremy Corbyn becoming Prime Minister. 

He added: “(Sir Keir) said a lot today but it’s clear he isn’t focused on the serious issues that are confronting our country.”

To heckles from Labour, Mr Sunak said: “We’re strengthening our economy, he’s backing the strikers. We’re supporting people with energy bills, he’s supporting the protesters.

“We’re tackling illegal migration, he’s opposing every measure. The British people want real leadership on the serious global challenges we face and that’s what they’ll get from this Government.”