No 10 was warned about informal complaints made about Dominic Raab’s behaviour before Rishi Sunak named him his deputy prime minister, it has been reported.
It comes as all three of the top civil servants running departments where Mr Raab allegedly bullied staff have given evidence to the official investigation into his conduct.
The Cabinet Office made officials at No 10 aware of “issues” with Mr Raab in previous roles, which had not reached the formal complaint stage, before his appointment in October, according to The Times.
However, sources told the newspaper that the prime minister was not “directly told” about the informal concerns, and that he was not advised against appointing the senior Tory figure.
Mr Sunak’s official spokesman said on Monday that the PM had the “requisite information” to make the appointment, adding: “At the time he was not aware of any formal complaints.”
It comes as Sir Philip Rycroft, permanent secretary at the Brexit department, and Antonia Romeo, current permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice, are said to have given evidence about Mr Raab to the inquiry.
Both top mandarins, who worked closely with Mr Raab, have been interviewed by independent investigator Adam Tolley KC in recent weeks, according to The Guardian and the BBC. It has previously been reported that the Foreign Office’s former chief Simon McDonald has given evidence.
Mr Rycroft told Times Radio on Wednesday he is “pleased” that Mr Raab’s behaviour was being investigated after giving evidence to the inquiry.
“Clearly for everybody involved in this getting this sorted out is long overdue, but we’ll have to wait and see what the investigator comes up with, and ultimately the decision on the basis of that evidence is one for the prime minister,” said the former Whitehall chief.
Dave Penman, leader of the FDA union, which represents senior officials, said Mr Raab should be suspended while the investigation is conducted given “the seriousness and extent of those accusations”.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Dominic Raab is now facing investigations around eight separate complaints involving what we understand is dozens of civil servants in three separate government departments over a period of four years.”
The union leader added: “If that was any other employee, if that was a permanent secretary in the civil service, they would in all likelihood be suspended from their job while the investigation took place.”
Mr Raab – who denies bullying allegations and has said he was “confident I behaved professionally throughout” – is facing calls from some Tory MPs to resign and avoid further distraction for the government.
One minister who worked with Mr Raab told The Times saw “bullying and intimidating” behaviour towards civil servants that “more than being a robust minister”.
Staff told The Mirror compared working with the minister to being in a “controlling and abusive relationship”, with claims he would “belittle, demean and humiliate” them.
Former minister Jacob Rees-Mogg was condemned after he warned against being “too snowflakey” over bullying allegations as he defended Mr Raab.
“We mustn’t be too snowflakey about it. People need to be able to say this job has not been done well enough and needs to be done better,” he told Sky News.
Labour claimed Mr Rees-Mogg was trying to “belittle the serious claims of bullying and intimidation” and “should be ashamed of himself”.
Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have urged Mr Sunak to suspend Mr Raab while he is under investigation by senior lawyer Adam Tolley KC.
