Rishi Sunak is facing growing questions over his promotion of a second cabinet minister after a senior civil servant agreed that the characterisation of him as someone who could bully was “plausible”.
The prime minister has defended Dominic Raab after he was accused of rude and demeaning behaviour towards officials.
Mr Sunak said he did not “recognise” that description of his deputy and denied knowing of any formal complaints against him.
But Simon McDonald, who worked closely with justice secretary Dominic Raab when they were both at the Foreign Office, described him as “a tough boss” and “one of the most driven people I have ever worked for”.
Asked by Andrew Marr on LBC if “the characterisation of him as somebody who could bully, and around whom bullying happened, is a plausible one?”, Mr McDonald, the former Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Office, replied: “Yes”.
A survey of 20 people working in Mr Raab’s private office when he was foreign secretary in 2019 found that 40 per cent reported personal experience of bullying and harassment – although not necessarily by Mr Raab himself – and 75 per cent had witnessed it, ITV reported on Sunday.
The allegations against Mr Raab were first reported in the Guardian.
The Mirror also reported that the Justice Secretary had acquired the nickname “The Incinerator” because of the rate at which he “burns through” staff.
Downing Street said that the prime minister believed that everyone in public life should treat others with “consideration and respect”.
Mr Sunak is already facing questions about a number of appointments to his cabinet.
Last week former education secretary Gavin Williamson resigned from the government saying he wanted to clear his name amid allegations of bullying.
The home secretary Suella Braverman was also roundly condemned when she claimed the UK faced an “invasion” of migrants on its south coast.
Mr Raab’s office has been approached for comment on Mr McDonald’s comments.
Labour and the Lib Dems have called for an inquiry into the allegations surrounding Mr Raab.
An MoJ spokesperson told the Guardian there was “zero tolerance for bullying across the civil service”.
They added: “The deputy prime minister leads a professional department, driving forward major reforms, where civil servants are valued and the level of ambition is high.”
