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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Business
Guardian staff

‘Raab goes down swinging’: what the papers say as deputy PM resigns

Dominic Raab George Mann United Kingdom Britain Daily Mail
Newspaper composite of deputy PM Dominic Raab resigning. From L-R: i weekend, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, Daily Express, Daily Mail, FT Weekend, The Times
Front pages of the UK papers covering Dominic Raab’s resignation over bullying investigation. Composite: i weekend, Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Daily Express, Daily Mail, FT Weekend, Times

Dominic Raab has resigned as deputy prime minister after an official report found he had bullied civil servants. Let’s look at the reaction on the front pages.

We begin with the Guardian which says “Raab quits in fury”. It reports that the investigation by Adam Tolley KC cited “abuse of power”, but that Raab believes himself the victim of “activist civil servants” trying to block the Conservative government’s work.

The Daily Telegraph has “Row over Spanish forces in Gibraltar sank Raab”. It says the report found Raab “bullied a British ambassador said to have secretly proposed putting Spanish boots on the ground in Gibraltar during Brexit talks”.

The Daily Express is sympathetic, regarding Raab as having been “Forced out for wanting best for Britain”, which it says was a matter of “unwavering determination” for him according to allies.

“Was this the day Britain became ungovernable?” – dramatic stuff in the Daily Mail which picks up on Raab’s riposte that “flimsy complaints” such as those that brought him down make it “almost impossible” for ministers to “deliver for the British people”.

The Financial Times Weekend edition leads with complaints of a much more serious nature at Britain’s peak business lobby. “Big names quit CBI after new rape allegation”. Dominic Raab is in a picture spot, headlined “End of the road: Raab strikes defiant note as he resigns over bullying report”.

“Raab goes down swinging” sums it up well on the front of the Times. The deputy PM laments that you can be forced out under a “tyranny of subjective hurt feelings”.

“Raab officials angry at ‘tone-deaf’ resignation” is the angle in the i newspaper. One subheading says “Officials who worked under Raab hit back, telling i the ex-deputy PM is ‘arrogant’ and ‘playing the victim’”; another points out the official report branded Raab “intimidating” and “persistently aggressive”.

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