British Prime Minister Theresa May has appointed Gavin Williamson as her new defence minister after his predecessor resigned in a sexual harassment scandal.<br /><br />Just hours after Michael Fallon quit saying his behaviour in the past fell “below the high standards we require of the armed forces”, May appointed Williamson, a rising star in her ruling Conservative Party.<br /><br />Weakened after losing her party’s majority in a June election, May had to move swiftly to plug the hole in her cabinet, at odds on everything from Britain’s departure from the European Union to the government’s austerity agenda. <br /><br />Williamson has moved swiftly through the ranks of the Conservative Party and was appointed chief whip by May in 2016. His appointment was a surprise for some Conservative MPs as he has no former experience of the armed forces. Julian Smith replaces him as the new chief whip.<br /><br />Damian Green, May’s first secretary of state, has also been accused of making unwanted sexual advances to an academic and journalist 30 years his junior. <br /><br />He vehemently denies the claims.<br />
