Rishi Sunak has been urged to slap down Dominic Raab for “undermining” the report into his bullying and “peddling conspiracy theories” about civil servants.
And the Lib Dems called on the former Deputy PM to refuse the £17,000 severance payment he's due as an outgoing minister.
The PM was blasted for allowing Mr Raab to resign - and put forward his version of events in a newspaper article - before the report into his behaviour was published by Downing Street.
And Dave Penman, who leads civil service professionals union the FDA, said Mr Sunak should “get off the fence” and take action against Mr Raab.
Writing for the Sunday Mirror, Mr Penman wrote: “ Rishi Sunak allowed Raab to resign and undermine the investigation before publishing the evidence, and now the Prime Minister is sitting back whilst his former deputy peddles dangerous conspiracy theories that undermine the impartiality and integrity of the civil service.
“As Prime Minister – and Minister for the Civil Service - Rishi Sunak has a duty under the Ministerial Code to defend the impartiality of the service. He now needs to do that and stop giving his former ally a free hand.”
Meanwhile, the Lib Dems urged the government to come clean on the cost of the probe into Mr Raab's behaviour.
In a Parliamentary Question, Lib Dem chief whip Wendy Chamberlain asked "what the cost to the public purse is of engaging Adam Tolley KC to undertake an investigation into the conduct of the Deputy Prime Minister."
But Cabinet Office Minister Jeremy Quin refused to say until the department releases its annual report, which isn't due to be published for months.
He wrote: "In line with the usual process, costs will be accounted for in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts. Mr Adam Tolley KC is undertaking his investigation and his findings will be made public."
Ms Chamberlain told the Sunday Mirror: “It is outrageous that the Government is refusing to disclose the cost of the investigation which upheld bullying complaints against Dominic Raab.
“The public deserves to know how much this endless Conservative chaos and sleaze is costing the taxpayer. People’s trust in politics is being destroyed and Rishi Sunak is failing to tackle it.
“Dominic Raab is a bully who has had to resign in disgrace. He must immediately forgo the severance payment offered to him. Anything less would be an insult to millions of decent people across the country.”
Mr Raab said the inquiry has "set a dangerous precedent" by setting a "low" threshold for bullying, which he says will "encourage spurious complaints".
Rishi Sunak's response to Raab probe was pure farce
By Dave Penman, General Secretary of the FDA Union
How the government chose to respond to Adam Tolley KC’s report – which it instigated and knew was coming remember - was pure farce. Despite being found to be a bully, Dominic Raab was allowed to resign and incredibly, put forward his version of events in the Telegraph, before the independent report had been published or the Prime Minister had responded.
Raab’s subsequent accusations about ‘activist civil servants’ trying to block government - the latest conspiracy he’s concocted to deflect from an independent investigation’s criticism of his conduct – was met with a deafening silence from the government.
It’s time the Prime Minister came off the fence. Rishi Sunak only launched the inquiry because Raab asked him to, he allowed Raab to resign and undermine the investigation before publishing the evidence, and now the Prime Minister is sitting back whilst his former deputy peddles dangerous conspiracy theories that undermine the impartiality and integrity of the civil service.
As Prime Minister – and Minister for the Civil Service - Rishi Sunak has a duty under the Ministerial Code to defend the impartiality of the service. He now needs to do that and stop giving his former ally a free hand.
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. A recent FDA survey showed that 70% of senior civil servants had no confidence in the system for dealing with complaints.
Given the scale of complaints against Dominic Raab and the evidence we have produced of a wider problem, the Prime Minister must now launch an independent inquiry into ministerial bullying, along the lines of the inquiry conducted by Dame Laura Cox KC commissioned under similar circumstances in Parliament. The past few days have shown that the current system is failing everyone – civil servants, ministers and the Prime Minister alike.
