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Concerns about ministers bullying civil servants are “ongoing”, the head of a Whitehall trade union has warned, as he suggested many figures in Rishi Sunak’s government are subject to such allegations. The Prime Minister has insisted he does not recognize allegations of bullying against Justice Secretary Dominic Raab, days after Gavin Williamson was forced to resign from the Cabinet amid claims he told an official to “cut your throat”. But the head of the FDA union, Dave Penman, warned that “there are concerns about a number of ministers, who are essentially a fixture in government”, adding: “So what you’re seeing is not just about Dominic Raab.” Meanwhile, Mr Sunak condemned Russia’s “barbaric” and “illegal” war in Ukraine at the G20 summit in Bali, as the chancellor blamed the conflict for driving inflation – “a hidden and insidious tax that it eats up wages and savings.” The need to tackle soaring prices is “driving the tough tax and spending decisions” expected in Thursday’s autumn budget statement, Mr Hunt said.
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Union boss warns there is no ‘effective mechanism’ for bullying complaints in Whitehall
Read more about FDA union boss Dave Penman’s confirmation to Sky News that, in the words of host Kay Burley, several other ministers in Rishi Sunak’s government are facing allegations from union members that they “behaved inappropriately” towards them. “I’m not going to speculate how many [ministers]”, Mr Penman said, confirming that these allegations are about bullying. “Most of what comes to us is inappropriate behavior in terms of ministers – whether they lose their tempers, shout, get frustrated – government is a difficult job for civil servants and ministers, they know that, but sometimes this behavior can border on what people would call bullying.” Warning that “an effective mechanism” was needed to deal with such allegations in Whitehall, he added: “It’s ruining careers, people have ended up leaving the job or leaving the position they’re in.” FDA union president says several ministers in Sunak’s government ‘behaved inappropriately’ Andy Gregory15 November 2022 09:46 1668505460
Sunak fails to raise Khashoggi assassination in meeting with Saudi crown prince
Rishi Sunak did not mention the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in his meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to Downing Street. “They had a fairly long discussion about some of the work Saudi Arabia has done in recent years to improve social reforms,” Mr Sunak’s official spokesman said. “They talked about issues such as women’s rights and the need for more progress on freedoms in the kingdom.” Asked if Mr Sunak touched on the 2018 assassination, in which the crown prince is widely believed to be involved, the official said: “He did not raise specific individual cases. That’s not usually the norm in things like this.” He also said: “They had a good discussion. I think it was a frank discussion about the importance of the relationship between the UK and Saudi Arabia.” Andy Gregory15 November 2022 09:44 1668504700
Sunak ‘certain’ of growing G20 opposition to Russia’s war in Ukraine
Rishi Sunak is “certain” there is growing opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine among G20 countries, Downing Street has said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov “had no doubts about the power felt by many G20 countries” during the first summit, Mr Sunak’s official spokesman told reporters in Bali. He said: “It would not be right for me to speak on behalf of other world leaders, but there has certainly been very strong condemnation from many quarters. I think the prime minister, as you’ve seen, has been very honest and forthright in his assessment of the problems we’re seeing at the moment.” He said he was “certain that there is a growing number of countries that oppose” Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Andy Gregory15 November 2022 09:31 1668503673
Former Tory MP Imran Ahmad Khan has appealed his sexual assault conviction
A former Tory MP jailed for fondling a 15-year-old boy will challenge his conviction at the Court of Appeal. Imran Ahmad Khan, 49, was jailed for 18 months at Southwark Crown Court in May after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting the teenager after a party in 2008. The victim came forward days after Khan won his seat of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, in the December 2019 general election. Khan, who maintains his innocence, was expelled from the Conservative Party and resigned, triggering a by-election in the constituency, following his conviction. The former MP is challenging his conviction and sentence and his case will be heard by three senior judges at the Court of Appeal on Tuesday. Sian Harrison 15 November 2022 09:14 1668502821
Fighting civil servants ‘a crazy approach’, warns Lisa Nandy
Fighting your own public servants is “a totally crazy approach” and alienating your own team means “you can’t be an effective minister”, suggested Labour’s Lisa Nandey. Speaking on Sky News as Dominic Raab faces accusations of ‘bullying’, Ms Nandy said: ‘Of course it’s stressful, but the most stressful part is when you come back into a very strong group. It is people, groups, movements that change things, not individuals and the less you understand this – you cannot do things. “We live in a democracy and you have to take people with you and you have to have a group of people working with you to persuade people, to take people with you and to make and implement change. If you cannot do this, you cannot be an effective minister. He added: “What we’re seeing at the moment is a Tory government fighting everyone… they’re fighting every single person in this country, and they’re fighting their own public service teams. “It just seems to me a completely crazy approach at a time when you need to tap into the talents and ambitions of people in every part of the country the most.” Andy Gregory15 November 2022 09:00 1668502187
Several of Sunak’s ministers have bullied civil servants, claims Whitehall union chief
Civil servants have reported bullying by several members of Rishi Sunak’s front desk and this behavior is “consistent”, the head of the FDA union has warned. It comes amid allegations of bullying against Justice Secretary Dominic Raab – who Rishi Sunak says he does not recognise. But Dave Penman told Sky News this morning: “It’s not just this government. It is every government. You know, there are dozens of ministers and stressful situations. And so, at any point in time, you will inevitably have a situation where there are concerns about the behavior of ministers. That’s why what you’re seeing isn’t just about Dominic Raab.” Our politics correspondent Jon Stone has the full report: Andy Gregory15 November 2022 08:49 1668501082
Egypt will ‘smell weakness’ in Cleverley’s response to jailed British activist, ex-ambassador warns
Egypt will “smell weakness” in James Cleverley’s comments to MPs about the jailing of pro-democracy activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah, the former ambassador to Cario said, as he warned the government appeared to be “losing interest” in British citizen case. “I think things still look very bleak,” John Casson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “If we think about where we were last week, the prime minister went to Egypt and told the president of Egypt that the prosecution of this British national must stop and in the week since then it has become clear that Egypt is playing for time and based on the fact that our ministers are losing interest and talking all the time. “It looks like it might work. Yesterday we went from the foreign minister, who 12 days ago was saying he was working “tirelessly” to free Abdel-Fattah, to yesterday saying he’s still interested in the case and talking like it’s just a procedural dispute between friends. “Egyptians understand power and will smell weakness in what the foreign minister said yesterday.” Mr Expna told the foreign affairs committee yesterday that a “difference of opinion” centered on Egyptians not accepting that Mr Abdel-Fattah had completed the administrative process in Egypt’s dual citizenship system. Andy Gregory15 November 2022 08:31 1668500322
Exclusive: Tories under pressure to make fracking ban ‘Reversal Proof’
Tory MPs are being asked to formally pledge never to vote in favor of fracking, after months of uncertainty as successive Tory governments tackled the issue. The Lib Dems today secured a debate in the House of Commons at Westminster opposing any fracking in England without the support of local communities, in a move that aims to make the current moratorium on fracking, recently reinstated by Rishi Sunak, a ‘U-turn proof’. Our environment correspondent Harry Cockburn has the exclusive report: Andy Gregory15 November 2022 08:18 1668499980
Britain could send arms to help Taiwan defend against Chinese attack, points out Sunak
Britain will consider sending weapons to help Taiwan defend itself in the event of a Chinese attack, Rishi Sunak said. “We are looking at all these policies as part of the renewal of the comprehensive review,” the prime minister told reporters on the sidelines of the G20 summit. “Our policy on Taiwan is obviously that there should be no unilateral regime change and there should be a peaceful resolution to this situation.
