Gavin Williamson on dangerous ground in defence budget row

Gavin Williamson’s ambition to become PM is dependent on holding on to the support of a core of Tory backbenchers for whom defence remains a top priority.“It is open season at the moment,” the well-placed civil servant said, referring to a series of stories he assumed had been planted by the defence secretary, Gavin Williamson, or his allies over the defence budget, and a series of counter-blasts by the Treasury.The other is more fundamental for the UK: whether the country is f