Gavin Williamson - the Scarborough-born MP at the centre of a Government scandal

Gavin Williamson in Scarborough last December.

Now the Scarborough-born MP, who was brought up and educated on the Yorkshire coast and still returns here regularly, has been sacked as Defence Secretary.

Mr Williamson has been fired from the Government after he was identified as being responsible for the leak of information from a meeting of the National Security Council. He denies the allegations.

He was told by the Prime Minister that she had "lost confidence in his ability t...

There, he had started his political rise as president of the university's Conservatives students group.

He has been MP for South Staffordshire since 2010, and was made a CBE by outgoing Prime Minister David Cameron, having helped to run the leadership campaign of Theresa May.

Mr Williamson was also at the forefront of the agreement with the DUP to ensure Northern Ireland MPs boosted her Parliamentary majority, and eventually became the Conservatives' Chie Whip.

In 2017, he was promoted to Defence Secretary and stories emerged that he had a pet tarantula which he took to the House Of Commons.

His most recent public visit to Scarborough was in December, when he visited the town's lifeboat station to meet local sea cadets and announce that HMS Duncan will be affiliated with Scarborough, just months after the town was selected to host national Armed Forces Day in 2020.

"It's nice to be able to do something little for my home town" he said at the time. He told The Scarborough News he still had many members of his family living in the area and he welcomed any opportunity to come back home.