Dominic Raab was forced to resign on Friday after a damning bullying probe into his behaviour at three Whitehall departments.
The Deputy Prime Minister fired off an angry letter as he quit the Government around 24 hours after Rishi Sunak had been handed the report by senior lawyer Adam Tolley KC.
Mr Tolley’s investigation found Mr Raab acted in an intimidating and aggressive way with officials. He also concluded Mr Raab engaged in an "abuse or misuse of power" that "undermines or humiliates" while foreign secretary.
Mr Raab's conduct in the department had a "significant adverse effect" on one colleague and he was also found to have been "intimidating" to staff by criticising "utterly useless" work while he was justice secretary, the investigation found.
“Whilst I feel duty bound to accept the outcome of the inquiry, it dismissed all but two of the claims levelled against me,” Mr Raab said, having pledged to quit if he was found to have bullied civil servants.
The Justice Secretary criticised the two findings against him as “flawed”.
My resignation statement.👇 pic.twitter.com/DLjBfChlFq
— Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) April 21, 2023
He also argued in his letter to the PM: “In setting the threshold for bullying so low, this inquiry has set a dangerous precedent.
“It will encourage spurious complaints against ministers and have a chilling effect on those driving change on behalf of your government.”
Mr Tolley’s report took into consideration 44 pieces of written evidence and 66 interviews.
In his findings on a complaint into Mr Raab’s conduct as foreign secretary, he wrote: “In reaching and implementing this management choice he acted in a way which was intimidating, in the sense of unreasonably and persistently aggressive conduct in the context of a work meeting.
“It also involved an abuse or misuse of power in a way that undermines or humiliates. He introduced an unwarranted punitive element.”
On a separate occasion while foreign secretary, he was found to have caused a “significant adverse effect” on a civil servant after conveying a threat.
Adam Tolley KC wrote that Mr Raab referred to the civil service code in a way that would reasonably have been understood as suggesting those involved had committed a breach.
“This had a significant adverse effect on a particular individual who took it seriously. The DPM’s (deputy prime minister) conduct was a form of intimidating behaviour, in the sense of conveying a threat of unspecified disciplinary action, and was experienced as such.
“He did not target any individual, nor intend to threaten anyone with disciplinary action. However, he ought to have realised that his reference to the Civil Service Code could well have been understood as a threat.”
His conduct also involved “an abuse or misuse of power” in an incident at a work meeting while at the Foreign Office, the investigation found.
The former minister had formed an “adverse view” of civil servants’ actions on an ongoing project, Mr Tolley wrote.
His behaviour “went beyond what was reasonably necessary” and introduced a “punitive” element, the report said.
The FDA union, which represents senior civil servants, immediately called for an independent inquiry into ministerial bullying.
General Secretary Dave Penman said: “Bullying blights people’s lives and careers. It also gets in the way of government working effectively and efficiently.
“This investigation must be the seminal moment when the Prime Minister recognises that he has a duty to protect civil servants from the misconduct of ministers, and that the current system is neither fit for purpose nor commands the confidence of the very people it is supposed to protect.”
Mr Raab was allowed to set out his reaction to the Tolley report before No10 published it, with Mr Sunak already being accused of “dithering” in his response.
Mr Sunak in a letter to Mr Raab said he accepted his resignation with “great sadness” and said there were “shortcomings” in the way the bullying allegations were dealt with which have “negatively affected everyone involved”.
The Prime Minister’s judgement was also thrust into the spotlight after a string of controversies over other senior figures.
They include Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who quit the post under Liz Truss’ administration over a breach of the ministerial code relating to use of private emails only to be reappointed to it by her successor, Nadhim Zahawi who was sacked as Chancellor over a tax row, and Sir Gavin Williamson who resigned as a Government minister after bullying claims, which he strongly denied.
The Liberal Democrats immediately called for a by-election in Mr Raab’s Esher and Walton constituency where political experts say he faces an “uphill fight” to keep the seat at the next General Election.
Mr Raab, a former lawyer and karate black belt, is believed to have faced eight complaints against him relating to his time at the Foreign Office, Ministry of Justice and former Brexit Department.
He had run for the Tory leadership himself in 2019 and backed Mr Sunak in 2022’s contests for No10.
His loyalty was rewarded by the new PM, who returned him to the roles of Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary which he had previously held under Boris Johnson.
But the decision caused consternation in Whitehall, where there had long been rumours about Mr Raab’s behaviour towards officials in his departments.
Working with Mr Raab led some to suffer “mental health crises”, according to union chiefs.
But allies of Mr Raab , 49, downplayed his behaviour as “demanding” and suggested officials should be prepared to work in challenging situations.
The five-month bullying inquiry found he had over-stepped the mark on at least some occasions.
Labour sought to drag Mr Sunak deeper into the fall-out of the bullying storm.
Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said early on Friday morning: “Rishi Sunak has been holed up in Downing Street, reading the report, and he has got no-one to blame but himself because he knew these allegations were in the air when he appointed Dominic Raab as Deputy Prime Minister and he has got form for weakness in appointing people to the highest offices who are not fit to hold them.”
While Mr Sunak has been criticised for dithering, one of his closest allies has now been forced to resign, in contrast to Mr Johnson hanging onto Priti Patel as Home Secretary despite her being found to have breached the ministerial code over bullying claims against her.
Cabinet Minister Mark Harper had said Mr Sunak wanted to bring the issue to a “swift conclusion” and the PM’s pledge to lead a Government of “integrity, accountability and professionalism” still stood.
Before Mr Raab resigned, he added: “He (the PM) only received the report yesterday, at the conclusion of a five-month inquiry.
“It’s right that the Prime Minister takes the time to read the report in full, go through all of the details, and that is fair to the complainants who made serious complaints and also fair to Dominic Raab.”
At the 2019 election, Mr Raab held the affluent constituency of Esher and Walton in 2019 with a majority of just 2,743, down from 23,298 two years earlier.
Support for him evaporated amid a fierce backlash against Brexit, a cause he championed.
The Liberal Democrats have set up an office in the constituency which they are heavily targeting.
Lord Hayward, a leading Tory pollster, said: “He is in an uphill fight having faced a very substantial Liberal Democrat challenge last time around.”
Another political expert said that while anger against Mr Raab over Brexit may have eased, he is seen as “vulnerable” as some voters in 2019 may have been worried that if they voted Lib-Dem and ousted him it could have given the keys to No10 to Jeremy Corbyn.
These voters, he argued, are thought to be less concerned at the prospect of Sir Keir Starmer becoming Prime Minister than Mr Corbyn.
