Gavin Williamson said teaching unions ‘just hate work’ during Covid pandemic

Former education secretary said to have made comments in leaked WhatsApp exchanges to Matt Hancock, then health secretary

Teachers complained about a lack of PPE in order to have an excuse not to teach", Gavin Williamson said in a leaked WhatsApp chat, commenting later that some teaching unions really do just hate work".

In new leaked WhatsApp messages from the Telegraph's investigation, Matt Hancock, the then heath secretary, was asked by Williamson, who was the education secretary, to help unblock school requests for protective equipment if a child became ill at school as classrooms prepared to reopen after the first lockdown.