Rishi Sunak has been accused of “dither and delay” after deciding he needs more time to decide whether to sack his deputy – hours after receiving an independent report on bullying allegations against his ally.
Dominic Raab’s career was left hanging on a knife edge, as the prime minister postponed a judgment on Mr Raab’s future on Thursday.
Mr Sunak’s previous expression of having “full confidence” in Mr Raab still stood, a No 10 spokesman said, but “obviously he’s carefully considering the findings of the report before coming to a judgment”.
Mr Raab was investigated by lawyer Adam Tolley KC over eight formal complaints about his behaviour as foreign secretary, Brexit secretary and during his first stint as justice secretary.
One person involved in the process has described the review as “devastating”, while a senior government official said Mr Raab was “toast”, according to the Financial Times.
Mr Raab, who has previously said he will quit if the bullying claims are proven, has insisted he believes “heart and soul” that he is not a bully, but defended his “forthright” approach to his work.
