Dominic Raab’s future hangs in the balance as Rishi Sunak considers his response to an independent report into allegations of bullying against the deputy prime minister.
A Downing Street spokesperson said Mr Sunak had “full confidence” in his deputy and will take action on the report’s findings “as swiftly as possible”.
Mr Raab himself commissioned the review in November following eight formal complaints about his behaviour as foreign secretary, Brexit secretary and during his first stint as justice secretary. He promised to resign if the allegations were upheld.
One person involved in the process described the review as “devastating”, while a senior government official said Mr Raab was “toast”, according to the Financial Times.
And The Guardian reported senior Ministry of Justice officials could quit if Mr Raab, who is also the justice secretary, is cleared of the allegations. A decision not to sanction him would be “demoralising” for staff in the department, a source told the paper.
Mr Raab has insisted he believes “heart and soul” that he is not a bully, but defended his “forthright” approach to his work.
Home Office spent £370,000 settling Patel bullying claim
It’s interesting to recall that Priti Patel was not forced to stand down when accused of bullying.
Instead, the Home Office spent more than £370,000 to settle a top civil servant’s tribunal claim in 2021, after he alleged the then home secretary had bullied him:
Raab pays for own legal defence
The taxpayer footed an estimated £222,000 bill for Boris Johnson’s legal fees in the inquiry into whether he lied to MPs over partygate, but Dominic Raab has paid for his own legal team to defend himself against the allegations, the much-delayed register of ministerial interests shows:
Profile: An ‘unapologetic karate black belt who lacks the human touch’
Dominic Raab suffers from a bit too much calm, steely determination, Sean O’Grady wrote in this observant profile of the minister in 2021:
Raab focuses on justice work
While awaiting Mr Sunak’s verdict, Mr Raab has been focusing on his role as justice secretary, tweeting that convictions for rape have risen.
What could happen next
How the prime minister is likely to respond, and what the report’s wider effect will be on the government:
Raab could be Sunak’s third minister to go
The allegations against the deputy prime minister could potentially result in the third departure of a senior government minister over their personal conduct since Rishi Sunak entered Downing Street in October and would undermine his efforts to revive the Conservative Party’s polling fortunes.
Gavin Williamson was forced to resign as a Cabinet minister in November after bullying allegations. And the prime minister sacked party chair Nadhim Zahawi in January after he was found to have broken the ministerial code over his openness about his tax affairs.
Here’s out report on Williamson’s resignation:
Timeline of bullying claims
Jon Stone and William Mata look at the history of the allegations against Mr Raab:
Ex-Tory chair hits out at ‘outdated’ complaints system
Former Conservative Party chair Sir Jake Berry attacked the “outdated” system for dealing with complaints in Westminster which has allowed Dominic Raab to continue in his job while under investigation.
Appearing on ITV’s Peston show on Wednesday night, Sir Jake, who served in the cabinets of both Boris Johnson and Theresa May, said: “It does seem to me quite wrong that when people are under these kinds of investigations of this type that they continue in their job.”
He added: “Whatever the outcome is, and we’re going to find out tomorrow, I actually think there’s a fundamental rethink required about how we deal with these sorts of allegations, both in government made against ministers and made against members of parliament.
“It’s a massively outdated system that isn’t what our constituents would expect of any of us.”
Sir Jake is a former cabinet minister (file photo)
” height=”3296″ width=”4944″ layout=”responsive” class=”i-amphtml-layout-responsive i-amphtml-layout-size-defined” i-amphtml-layout=”responsive”> Sir Jake is a former cabinet minister (file photo)
Dominic Raab report: Full statement from Downing Street
After Rishi Sunak received the report into allegations of bullying against Dominic Raab, a No 10 spokesperson said: “The prime minister has received the report from Adam Tolley the independent investigator. He received the findings this morning. He is considering those findings,.
“He does have full confidence in the [deputy] prime minister – that still stands. Obviously he is carefully considering the findings of the report.”
The spokesperson would not say when a response from Mr Sunak could be expected but that the prime minister would review the report “as swiftly as possible”.
Dominic Raab’s future hangs in the balance as ‘bullying’ probe report lands on Sunak’s desk
Dominic Raab is awaiting his fate as Rishi Sunak has received the report into bullying allegations against his deputy prime minister (Kate Devlin writes).
Downing Street confirmed that the findings of an independent investigation had landed on the prime minister’s desk on Thursday morning – with its release now expected within hours.
Mr Sunak must decide if the review by lawyer Adam Tolley KC – said to be “devastating” – is enough to sack the senior Tory cabinet minister, or ask him to resign.
The PM’s official spokesman said he was “carefully considering those findings”, but would not comment further on exactly when the report will be published.
Our politics team brings you the full story here:
