Dominic Raab reportedly presided over a “perverse culture of fear” in which civil servants were “signed off work for extended periods of time” when he was Justice secretary, according to a formal complaint seen by The Times.
Civil servants were said to be left in tears after speaking to Mr Raab or his senior team, the paper reported.
Some people were apparently so stressed that they were “signed off work for extended periods of time”.
“The combination of the pressure of work and unreasonable deadlines has had such an impact on some colleagues’ mental and physical health that they have visited their GPs,” the complaint reportedly said.
It claimed that Mr Rabb was “abrupt” and “rude” when he was at the Ministry of Justice.
Mr Raab has denied all allegations of bullying and asked Rishi Sunak to launch an inquiry into his conduct to clear his name.
He said he would “thoroughly rebut and refute” any claims against him.
In a letter to Mr Sunak, Mr Raab said he had “never tolerated bullying” and “always sought to reinforce and empower” civil servants.
The complaint against Mr Raab was reportedly submitted by a group of mid-ranking officials from the Ministry of Justice in March.
Raab created a ‘culture of fear’ at the MoJ, according to a formal complaint seen by The Times
It was apparently resubmitted this week after the government said that no formal complaints had been made against the former justice secretary.
The letter reportedly said: “We are extremely worried about the perverse culture of fear that is clearly permeating this department… We are proud of the work we do here, but the tangible shift towards a dysfunctional working culture is starting to hinder that.”
It continued: “There have been multiple recent examples of colleagues being left in tears after being on the receiving end of this inappropriate behaviour.”
Mr Raab is also facing allegations about his behaviour during his time as foreign secretary.
Simon McDonald, who was permanent secretary at the Foreign Office at the time, reportedly spoke to Mr Raab on several occasions about his treatment of staff.
Senior civil servants at the Ministry of Justice were also offered a “respite or a route out” when Mr Raab rejoined the department, The Guardian reported.
Around 15 members of staff from Mr Raab’s private office were allegedly taken into a room where officials gave them the option of moving roles.
The permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice, Antonia Romeo, also had to speak to Mr Raab and remind him to act professionally and treat staff with respect, the paper reported.
A source also told The Sun that Mr Raab had thrown three tomatoes into a bag “making a loud noise” during one tense moment at the MoJ – an allegation that was condemned as “complete nonsense” by Mr Raab’s spokesperson.
