Civil service union leader David Penman has argued that if Dominic Raab were “any other employee” he would “in all likelihood be suspended” from his role over the allegations of bullying made against him.
The Guardian reported last week that at least 24 civil servants were involved in formal complaints about the behaviour of the Justice Secretary, who has also served as deputy Prime Minister since October 2022, a role he previously held between September 2021 and September 2022.
The FDA general secretary told the BBC today that the investigation involved “dozens” of civil servants and eight complaints covering three government departments, with Raab been accused of bullying and intimidating staff.
The government confirmed in December that there were eight complaints against Raab. However, according to The Guardian, all but two of these involve multiple complainants. The total number of complainants remains unknown.
The complaints relate to Raab’s time as Justice Secretary and Foreign Secretary under then Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as well as his time as Brexit Secretary during Theresa May’s leadership.
The Times reported yesterday that No 10 was made aware of the allegations before Raab was reappointed as deputy Prime Minister, though Downing Street sources claimed that Rishi Sunak was not “directly told”. According to The Observer, concerns were raised in Whitehall about Raab’s behaviour as early as 2018.
Angela Rayner said today: “These shocking claims of widespread bullying and intimidation raise yet more questions about the Prime Minister’s judgement.
“He promised a government of integrity and claimed zero tolerance for bullying, yet he not only appointed Dominic Raab as his deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary but continues to prop him up.
“The cabinet he appointed is awash with sleaze and scandal, but the Prime Minister is too weak to do anything about it. There must be no whitewash, and the Prime Minister himself must come clean on what he knew when he reappointed Dominic Raab.”
Sunak has ordered an inquiry into whether Raab’s conduct breached the ministerial code, with an investigation being conducted by Adam Tolley KC. Labour and the Liberal Democrats have called for the Justice Secretary to be suspended from his role while the inquiry is underway.
Addressing the Commons during Prime Minister’s Questions today, Keir Starmer said: “At the last count, the deputy Prime Minister was facing 24 separate allegations of bullying.
“According to recent reports, some of the complainants were physically sick. One says they were left suicidal. How would he feel if one of his friends or relatives was being forced to work for a bully, simply because the man at the top was too weak to do anything about it?”
Civil servants working at the Ministry of Justice were reportedly offered “respite or a route out” of the department when Raab was reappointed as Justice Secretary in October due to concerns some staff were still traumatised by his behaviour during his previous time in the role.
Multiple sources told The Guardian that Raab had created a “culture of fear” when he first held the role of Justice Secretary between September 2021 and September 2022. Raab was reportedly warned by permanent secretary Antonia Romeo on his return to the department that he must treat staff professionally and with respect.
The paper subsequently reported that Raab was warned on several occasions about his treatment of staff during his time as Foreign Secretary, resulting in the then permanent secretary at the department Simon McDonald informally reporting his concerns to the Cabinet Office’s propriety and ethics team.
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