Accusatory resignation letter claims inquiry sets a 'dangerous precedent’
Deputy Prime Minster and Justice Secretary Dominic Raab has announced his resignation from government, following a report into bullying allegations against him.
In a letter sent to the Prime Minster this morning, Raab said he believed it was important to ‘keep my word’ when he said he would resign if Adam Tolley KC’s independent probe made any findings of bullying.
Raab accused the inquiry of setting a ‘low threshold’ for bullying and a ‘dangerous precedent’, in a critical resignation letter.
In his letter, he stated: “Whilst I feel duty bound to accept the outcome of the inquired, it dismissed all but two of the claims levelled against me.
“I also believe that its two adverse findings are flawed and set a dangerous precedent for the conduct of good government.”
The lengthy letter defended ministers’ ability to, “give direct critical feedback on briefings and submissions to senior officials, in order to set the standards and drive the reform the public expects of us.”
Raab appeared to deflect accountability as he apologised for any, “unintended stress or offence that any officials felt, as a result of the pace, standards and challenge that I brought to the Ministry of Justice”.
He also lashed out at apparent “systematic leaking of skewed and fabricated claims to the media”.
His letter has been dismissed as a ‘non-apology’ by Paul Nowak, General Secretary of the TUC, who wrote on Twiter: “Sorry, not sorry’. As classy a resignation statement as we might have expected.
“Beyond the non-apology, spare a thought for the civil servants who’ve had to put up with Dominic Raab’s unique brand of ‘direct oversight’ for so long.”
The Liberal Democrats have called for Raab to resign as an MP, and for a by-election in his constituency of Esher and Walton, stating that he is ‘totally unfit to represent his constituents in Parliament’.
In wake of the investigation, the FDA trade union, which represents people in the public sector, has called for an independent inquiry into ministerial bullying.
Dave Penman, FDA General Secretary believed Raab’s resignation letter, ‘makes clear he was guilty of bullying civil servants’ and that he breached the Ministerial Code.
Penman said: “His obviously reluctant tone and dismissal of the complaints says more about his conduct than any findings will.
“This resignation is not a vindication of the current system, it’s a damning indictment of the inadequacy of a process that relies solely on the Prime Minster of the day to enforce standards,” added Penman.
One in six senior civil servants had witnessed misconduct by ministers in the last 12 months alone, according to FDA research.
There were warnings yesterday that civil servants would resign if the Prime Minister failed to take action following the publication of the Raab bullying inquiry.
Rishi Sunak was accused of ‘dithering’ for his delayed response to the report which came out yesterday, leaving civil servants in the lurch.
FDA citing a fear from civil servants in raising concerns due to a belief that politics will always take priority over fairness in bringing complaints against ministers.
Penman had labelled the complaints process a ‘farce’ and said it was not fit for purpose when dealing with complaints against ministers.
Hannah Davenport is trade union reporter at Left Foot Forward
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