Allegations of bullying in opposition to Dominic Raab are “plausible”, a former high civil servant has mentioned following a slew of experiences concerning the deputy PM’s behaviour.
Lord Simon McDonald, who was everlasting secretary on the Foreign Office between 2015 and 2020, mentioned Mr Raab was a “tough boss” and the claims about him are plausible.
Numerous allegations about Mr Raab’s behaviour have surfaced within the media over current days.
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The allegations relate to his earlier stint as justice secretary beneath Boris Johnson, with employees reportedly provided a “route out” of his division when he was reinstated in October.
Civil servants who labored with him instructed The Guardian he was a “very rude and aggressive” boss whereas one other report claimed the justice secretary had acquired the nickname “The Incinerator” as a result of he “burns through” employees.
And a survey of 20 individuals working in Mr Raab’s non-public workplace when he was overseas secretary in 2019 confirmed that 40% reported private expertise of bullying and harassment – although not essentially by Mr Raab – and 75% witnessed it, ITV reported on Sunday.
Lord McDonald, who as Sir Simon McDonald was the everlasting secretary on the Foreign Office whereas Mr Raab was overseas secretary, mentioned bullying allegations had been plausible.
Asked by LBC radio if characterisation of Mr Raab as somebody who might bully and round whom bullying might occur, he replied: “Yes.”
“Dominic Raab is one of the most driven people I ever worked for, he was a tough boss,” he mentioned.
“Maybe they are euphemisms, but I worked closely with him and I didn’t see everything that happened.”
Lord McDonald mentioned he labored within the Foreign Office for practically 40 years and whereas “pressure characterised most of those years… fractured relations between ministers and civil service were much more obvious at the end than at the beginning”.
He mentioned there’s bullying in Whitehall and it’s “very difficult for the system to deal with… especially when it happens at the top”.
His feedback got here after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak mentioned he didn’t “recognise that characterisation” of the person he reappointed as justice secretary and deputy PM, and denied understanding about any formal complaints in opposition to Mr Raab.
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On Monday, Mr Sunak stood by his shut ally, telling reporters travelling with him to Indonesia for the G20 summit: “I don’t recognise that characterisation of Dominic and I’m not aware of any formal complaints about him.
“Of course there are established procedures for civil servants in the event that they wish to convey to mild any points.
“I’m not aware of any formal complaint about Dominic.”
But extra weight was added to the claims on Monday night time following a report that Simon Case, the top of the civil service, was instructed by senior officers of considerations about Mr Raab’s abrasive therapy of junior employees and took steps to attempt to enhance his behaviour.
According to Bloomberg, senior officers raised their objections about Mr Raab’s therapy of employees on to Mr Case and whereas it didn’t represent a proper criticism, the cupboard secretary took motion by holding discussions with different officers over result in modifications within the justice secretary’s behaviour.
Antonia Romeo, the everlasting secretary on the Ministry of Justice, reportedly then mentioned the matter personally with Mr Raab.
In response to the report, a spokesperson from the MoJ instructed Sky News Mr Raab and the everlasting secretary “meet frequently to discuss the effective running of the department that they’re both responsible for”.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson mentioned: “We have no record of any formal complaints.”
The allegations will show troublesome for Mr Sunak, whose alternative of cupboard colleagues has already been referred to as into query.
The prime minister got here beneath fireplace for reappointing Sir Gavin Williamson to his senior workforce regardless of being instructed he was beneath investigation for allegedly bullying a colleague, claims that prompted Sir Gavin to stop.
He additionally confronted criticism for reinstating Suella Braverman as dwelling secretary simply six days after she was pressured to step down over a safety breach.
Deputy Labour chief Angela Rayner has reiterated calls for for an impartial investigation to be launched.
“It is anti-bullying week, but instead of holding the bullies to account this prime minister is cowering behind them. Rishi Sunak clearly knew about Dominic Raab’s reputation when he reappointed him to his cabinet,” she mentioned.
“Rishi Sunak put the Tory Party before the country and cut a series of grubby deals to avoid facing a leadership contest, his cabinet is overflowing with ministers embroiled in misconduct allegations. An independent investigation into Dominic Raab must urgently be launched.”
The Liberal Democrats have written to Mr Case to ask for a listing to be revealed of ministers with “credible allegations of bullying” made in opposition to them.
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Despite the stream of allegations, Mr Raab will face MPs when he stands in for his get together chief throughout prime minister’s questions on Wednesday.
A spokesman for Mr Raab mentioned of earlier experiences: “Dominic has high standards, works hard, and expects a lot from his team as well as himself.
“He has labored properly with officers to drive the federal government’s agenda throughout Whitehall in a number of authorities departments and all the time acts with the utmost professionalism.”
Source: information.sky.com”