Third of staff allege bullying in Raab’s private office team | Dominique Raab

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A third of staff in Dominic Raab’s private office at the Ministry of Justice claimed to have been bullied or harassed while working in his current team in the past year, an internal Whitehall investigation has found.

The results of this week’s Civil Service survey, which were leaked to the Guardian, show that 10 of the 33 people who worked most closely with the justice secretary said they had been victims of bad behaviour.

This figure, which represents 30% of the total number of civil servants in private office management, is more than four times higher than the 7% who said they had been bullied or harassed at work the previous year. The private office’s leadership includes officials working for Raab, his deputy ministers and the Justice Department’s permanent secretary.

The figures are significantly higher in the private office than in the rest of MoJs Whitehall headquarters, where 8% of staff said they had been bullied or harassed at work in both years. In the public service as a whole, the figure was 7%.

The survey, which is completed by all Department of Justice staff in September and October each year, is anonymous and does not reveal who is accused of bullying within the team.

Raab is facing eight official complaints of alleged bullying, including six since his first stint in the role, which he held for 12 months until September 2022, when he was fired by Liz Truss. He was renewed a month later by Rishi Sunak.

The Deputy Prime Minister has pledged to rebut and thoroughly rebut the first three official complaints he is already facing, one from the Ministry of Justice and two from his tenure as Foreign Secretary and Brexit Secretary.

The latest five official allegations, confirmed by No 10 on Wednesday, have dealt a blow to Raab’s attempts to clear his name and raise even more questions about Sunak’s judgment in relinquishing him such a high post.

The new complaints are said to come from senior officials with first-hand experience of Raab’s alleged bullying and aggressive behavior during his first stint on the job.

Senior Tories have questioned why the Justice Secretary has been allowed to stay on as the growing number of complaints against him are being investigated.

Former party chairman Jake Berry told Talk TV that keeping Raab in place was a tough line for the government to hold, adding: In the real world, people will look at this and say it doesn’t seem just.

Home Office shadow minister Stephen Kinnock said Raab should be suspended while the complaints are investigated by senior labor lawyer Adam Tolley KC, who was appointed by Sunak.

He told the BBC: There are very good reasons for him to be suspended, and there are very good reasons for him to consider his position. That’s an outrageous number of complaints against him.

However, the No 10 rejected calls to suspend Raab. The Prime Minister’s official spokesperson said: We think the right approach is to let the independent investigator do his job and not pre-empt this process.

Last week, Raab claimed officials had never raised concerns about his behavior over seven years in ministerial roles, as he spoke in anonymous media briefings and insisted on the fact that he always conducted himself in a professional manner.

However, the Guardian reported that Antonia Romeo, the MoJ’s permanent secretary, had to speak to Raab when he returned to the department under Sunak, to warn him to treat staff with professionalism and respect amid discontent. of his return.

The Guardian also reported that Raab was warned about his behavior towards civil servants during his tenure as Foreign Secretary by the department’s senior official, who then informally raised his concerns with the Property and Security team. ethics of the Cabinet Offices.

A source said: The problem is Dom doesn’t even know he’s doing it. A part is missing somewhere. He honestly thinks he’s just a badass. He just doesn’t understand that this behavior is not acceptable in the modern workplace.

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