Dominic Raab has resigned after a slew of allegations that he bullied staff members while working as a cabinet minister across different departments.
In a letter posted on Twitter, the deputy prime minister and justice secretary revealed a report into his behaviour upheld two claims against him.
But he criticised the findings, calling them “flawed” and claiming they “set a dangerous precedent for the conduct of good government” by “setting the threshold for bullying so low”.
He wrote: “Whilst I feel duty bound to accept the outcome of the inquiry, it dismissed all but two of the claims levelled against me. I also believe that its two adverse findings are flawed and set a dangerous precedent for the conduct of good government.”
The senior Conservative MP had faced multiple formal complaints over his dealings with civil servants.
His resignation comes after PM Rishi Sunak yesterday received the findings of a report into the allegations produced by the barrister Adam Tolley KC.
Mr Tolley, a senior employment lawyer, was appointed in November to investigate a number of allegations made against Mr Raab by civil servants who worked in his departments.
What allegations was Dominic Raab facing?
Dozens of officials are thought to be involved in eight formal complaints relating to bullying while Mr Raab was Justice Secretary and Foreign Secretary.
Allegations at the Ministry of Justice
The first claims against Mr Raab emerged in The Guardian in November last year, relating to his time at the Ministry of Justice between September 2021 and September 2022 under Boris Johnson.
The paper claimed that, after his return was announced, around 15 senior civil servants in his private office had been offered “respite or a route out” due to concerns some were still traumatised from working for him.
Sources told the paper that Mr Raab was “very rude and aggressive” and “demeaning rather than demanding” towards junior staff, claiming that his conduct “wasn’t just unprofessional, he was a bully”.
On the same day as the Guardian story broke, two more stories emerged from Mr Raab’s earlier time at the Ministry of Justice.
One source told The Sun Mr Raab had thrown tomatoes from his salad at staff.
The Mirror also reported a source who said Raab had been given the nickname “The Incinerator” because of how quickly he “burns through” employees.
A spokesperson for the department said there was “zero tolerance for bullying across the civil service”, adding: “The deputy prime minister leads a professional department, driving forward major reforms, where civil servants are valued and the level of ambition is high.”
Allegations while Raab was Foreign Secretary
Two days later, another report from ITV revealed an internal survey from 2019 which showed that eight people working in Mr Raab’s private office when he was foreign secretary claimed to have been bullied or harassed at work.
The next day, former permanent secretary Lord Simon McDonald was asked on LBC whether the previous day’s bullying allegations were plausible, and he replied: “Yes.”
In response, a spokesman for Mr Raab said he had “high standards, works hard and expects a lot from his team as well as himself”, but that he “worked well with officials” and “always acts with the utmost professionalism”.
What does the report cover?
Mr Tolley has taken a thorough approach to examining the allegations, questioning the deputy prime minister multiple times among other interviewees, as well as taking written evidence.
Senior civil servants in the three government departments headed by Mr Raab — Antonia Romeo, the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice, Simon McDonald, a former permanent undersecretary at the Foreign Office, and Philip Rycroft, a former permanent secretary at the now-defunct Department for Exiting the European Union — are also understood to have spoken to the inquiry.
How had Dominic Raab responded to the complaints?
The deputy prime minister denied the allegations but pledged to resign if he was found to have bullied officials.
He insisted he “behaved professionally at all times” and said “anonymous reports in the media” were “mostly incorrect”.
He said he believes “heart and soul” that he is not a bully, but defended his “forthright” approach to his work.
Sources close to Mr Raab have hit back at the claims, with a number of his Tory colleagues describing him as “an excellent and considerate boss”.
What will the effect be on the Prime Minister and the Government?
The departure of Mr Raab, a close political ally to Rishi Sunak,will be a blow to the Prime Minister, who will undoubtedly face concerns over his judgment after allowing Raab to stay in post during the investigation.
Downing Street has said Mr Sunak did not know about any “formal” complaints before forming his first cabinet in October, but has not said whether he was aware of any other concerns.
Mr Raab’s allies have defended him throughout the inquiry, but backbencher Sir Jake Berry, who served in the cabinets of Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Theresa May, suggested it was “wrong” for Mr Raab to be allowed to continue in his job while under investigation.
When will the report be published?
Downing Street would not indicate when the report will be published but insisted a resolution will be sought “as swiftly as possible”.
It had previously been suggested that the review could be released shortly after the Prime Minister receives it.
