Gillian Keegan apologises after being caught swearing
Tories have branded Gillian Keegan a "damning indictment" of Rishi Sunak and his Cabinet after she was caught in a sweary outburst over the school concrete crisis.
The Education Secretary said she had "done a f****** good job" while others had "sat on their arse and done nothing" seconds after an interview yesterday while the cameras were still rolling.
It also emerged she was on holiday in Spain in the run-up to ordering more than 100 schools and colleges in England.
Ms Keegan was later forced to go before broadcasters to apologise for the language she used.
But a Conservative MP condemned Ms Keegan and the Prime Minister over the incident.
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They told The Telegraph: “The way she’s conducted herself – in particular in that ITV interview – shows she is absolutely selfish and shameless and not fit to stay in office.
"It’s a damning indictment of Rishi Sunak and the people he has appointed to his Cabinet.
“She’s been hiding behind process and has been found wanting on public empathy, and has failed to engage with councils and MPs.
"What she’s doing now is too late – the damage has been done, and kids’ education will be affected.”
Ms Keegan will face her Cabinet colleagues this morning as Ms Sunak assembles his top team for their first meeting since returning from the Commons' long summer break.
While still on camera after an interview with ITV News on Monday, the Education Secretary had said: "Does anyone ever say, you know what, you've done a f****** good job because everyone else has sat on their arse and done nothing? No signs of that, no?"
In a follow-up interview, Ms Keegan apologised for her "choice language" and said it was an "off-the-cuff remark".
She insisted her criticism, which could have been interpreted as being targeted at Conservative colleagues, was about "nobody in particular".
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said Mr Sunak was satisfied with her apology and continued to support her as Education Secretary.
Meanwhile, yesterday the PM admitted hundreds more schools could be affected by the reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) issue.
He insisted that 95 percent of England's schools were unaffected, leaving open the possibility that more than a thousand could still be impacted by the collapse-risk material.
Downing Street said the total number was expected to be in the hundreds rather than the thousands.
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