British Deputy Prime Minister, Dominic Raab, resigned from the government on Friday after an independent report found he had intimidated officials, the latest scandal that forced the removal of one of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s top ministers.
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The loss of a third chief minister through his personal conduct in six months will hurt Sunak’s bid to revive the fortunes of his Conservative Party ahead of local elections in May, and it’s a shame as Sunak promised a government of integrity when he entered Downing Street in October.
Raab issued an angry resignation letter arguing that the report’s findings, which said he had acted in a manner that was “intimidating” and “persistently aggressive” while foreign ministerThey were defective. But he made good on his promise to resign if the bullying allegations were confirmed.
“I requested an investigation and promised to resign if any bullying findings were made,” Raab said. “I think it’s important to keep my word.”
Raab had no formal powers as Sunak’s deputy, but would deputize for the prime minister if he was out of parliament or incapacitated. He was a close political ally of Sunak and helped launch his campaign to be prime minister last summer.
The bullying findings undermine Sunak’s attempts to portray his government as a complete break with Boris Johnson’s scandal-plagued rule and chaotic economic policies that took down Liz Truss in less than two months. Sunak said it was with great sadness that he accepted Raab’s resignation and acknowledged his concerns about how the initial allegations about his behavior were handled.
The five-month investigation by attorney Adam Tolley into the behavior of Raab heard evidence from government officials about allegations of intimidation in three different departments. He went beyond what was appropriate with his critical comments and insulted the work done by Justice Ministry officials, according to the report, adding that he had been abrasive but not deliberately abusive.
The report also found that, although he had not cursed or yelled at his colleagues, he had been a strong critic of the work of public officials and described the work of some officials as “completely worthless” and “pitiful”.
“(Raab) has been able to regulate this level of ‘aggressiveness’ since the announcement of the research,” Tolley said. “He should have changed his focus sooner.”
Raab, 49, is part of a generation of politicians who rose to power after the Brexit vote in 2016. He was demoted as British foreign minister in 2021 after going on holiday to Crete as the Taliban advanced on Kabul. Raab requested the investigation in November after formal complaints about his behavior.
He apologized for causing unintended stress or offense, but said the report “set a dangerous precedent” for effective government. with a low threshold for what constitutes bullying. This “will have a chilling effect on those who are pushing for change on behalf of their government and ultimately on the British people,” he said in his letter.
Oliver Dowden, the cabinet office minister and a key Sunak ally, was appointed as the new deputy prime minister, while former lawyer Alex Chalk was appointed as the new justice minister. Some conservative lawmakers said Raab did not deserve to lose his job. Keir Starmer, leader of the main opposition Labor Party, accused Sunak of “weakness” for letting Raab resign instead of firing him.
Another of Sunak’s senior ministers, Gavin Williamson, resigned in November after allegations of intimidation and the prime minister sacked Conservative Party chairman, Nadhim Zahawi, in January after he was found to have breached the ministerial code by being outspoken about his tax affairs.
Sunak faces his own investigation by parliament’s standards watchdog into whether he declared correctly his wife’s shareholding in a child care company that will benefit from the new government policy.
With information from Reuters | dm
