After days of damaging headlines, Dominic Raab continues to come under pressure over bullying allegations. The deputy prime minister and justice secretary is currently the subject of an official investigation with eight formal complaints having been made against him.
At prime ministers questions yesterday, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer questioned whether Mr Sunak had been informed about the allegations prior to Raab’s reappointments. Sir Keir accused Sunak of being “too weak” to sack his deputy prime minister over the allegations.
Pressed after the exchanges, Sunak’s press secretary refused to be drawn on whether No 10 had been aware of possible complaints about Raab’s alleged bullying. She repeated the prime minister was “not aware of any formal complaints at the time of the appointment”.
Questioned about Raab’s conduct this morning, the general secretary of the FDA union Dave Penman told Sky News that civil servants who were allegedly bullied by Dominic Raab have “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 are civil servants working and have worked for Dominic Raab, who have suffered mental health crises, have lost their careers essentially because they’ve had to move and change jobs”.
He repeated calls for Mr Raab to be suspended while an investigation into bullying claims is conducted, adding: “If you’re in a workplace where you’re being bullied, where the daily grind of coming to work destroys your mental health, then that has an impact on your career”.
Mr Penman also rubbished the idea of a “conspiracy” against Mr Raab this morning. He said such a claim is “extraordinary and it couldn’t be further from the truth”.
“Civil servants are politically impartial. They want to serve the government of the day and do the best job but they have to be protected and work in an environment where they are not bullies for doing that”.
It comes as Raab launches a fightback over the allegations, claiming that officials are trying to force him out. Allies of the former Brexit secretary say he is being targeted by civil servants who are opposed to measures he is championing such as a British bill of rights.
Raab’s spokesman told The Times: “The deputy prime minister has never sworn or shouted in a meeting. He sets targets across the department to focus relentlessly on delivery in the way that the British people would expect”.
Similarly, a former colleague of Raab’s tells the Daily Mail: “There is a clear attempt by a group of politically motivated mandarins to get him”.
The first claims against Mr Raab emerged in The Guardian and focus on his time at the ministry of justice between September 2021 and September 2022 under Boris Johnson.
The Guardian suggested around 15 senior civil servants in his private office had been offered “respite or a route out” after his return was announced, due to concerns some were still traumatised from working for him.
Multiple MoJ sources also said he had previously created a “culture of fear” in the department, alleging he was “demeaning rather than demanding” with civil servants, and that he was “very rude and aggressive”, adding: “[He] wasn’t just unprofessional, he was a bully”.
A spokesperson for the department said there was “zero tolerance for bullying across the civil service”, adding: “The deputy prime minister leads a professional department, driving forward major reforms, where civil servants are valued and the level of ambition is high”.
Rishi Sunak has appointed Adam Tolley KC to investigate the bullying claims.
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