Days after damaging headlines, Dominic Raab continued to come under fire for bullying allegations. The Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary are currently the subject of a formal investigation against which eight formal charges have been laid.
At Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday, Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer questioned whether Mr Sunak had been informed of the allegations before Rabe’s reappointment. Sir Keir accused Sunak of being “too weak” to fire his deputy prime minister.
Pressed after the exchange, Sunak’s press secretary declined to be drawn on whether Number 10 was aware of possible allegations about Rab’s alleged harassment. He reiterated that the prime minister was “not aware of any formal complaint at the time of appointment”.
There were questions about Rabe’s behavior this morning, said Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union Sky News Civil servants who were alleged to have been abused by Dominique Raab “suffered mental health crises” as a result.
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The general secretary of the FDA union, which represents senior Whitehall officials, added: “I’ve spoken to people who have worked for the civil servant and Dominic Raab, who have suffered from mental health problems, have basically lost their careers because they’ve told me to move and Had to change jobs.”
He repeatedly called for Mr Raab to be fired while the bullying claims were investigated, adding: “If you’re in a workplace where you’re being bullied, where coming to work every day destroys your mental health, it’s your career. effect on.”
Mr Penman also dismissed the idea of a “conspiracy” against Mr Raab this morning. Such claims, he said, were “extraordinary and could not be further from the truth”.
“Civil servants are politically neutral. They want to serve the government of the day and do the best they can but they need to be protected and work in an environment where they are not bullied for doing it”.
It comes as Raab began fighting the allegations, claiming officials were trying to force him out. Allies of the former Brexit secretary say she is being targeted by civil servants who oppose measures such as the British Bill of Rights.
Rab’s spokesperson informed this information The Times: “The Deputy Prime Minister never took oath or shouted in any meeting. He has set targets across the department to focus relentlessly on delivering the way the British people expect”.
Similarly, a former colleague of Rab told the Daily Mail: “There is a clear attempt by a group of politically motivated mandarins to get him”.
The first claim against Mr Robb emerged guardian And focus on him during the Ministry of Justice between September 2021 and September 2022 under Boris Johnson.
guardian About 15 senior civil servants in his private office were offered “leave or a route out” after his return was announced, amid concerns some were still traumatized from working for him.
Multiple MoJ sources also said he had previously created a “culture of fear” in the department, alleged that he was “derogatory rather than demanding” of civil servants and that he was “very rude and aggressive”, adding: “[He] Not only was he unprofessional, he was a bully”.
A department spokesman said there was “zero tolerance for bullying across the public service”, adding: “The Deputy Prime Minister leads a professional department, driving major reforms, where civil servants are valued and the level of ambition is high”.
Sage Sunak has appointed Adam Tolley KC to investigate the bullying claims.