The prime minister, speaking to broadcasters at the G20 summit in Bali, continued to stand by his deputy, saying he “did not recognize” Raab’s characterization as a bully but said public servants should “take advantage” of formal complaints procedure if necessary. He told the BBC: “I have not been and am not aware of any formal complaint about Dominic’s behaviour. But I would say if people have concerns, whether it’s an individual, that they should come forward and talk to people about them.” However, Sunak declined to answer questions about whether he had been informed of any informal complaints about the justice minister’s alleged bullying of three government departments before reassigning him to the Justice Department. In a separate interview with ITV News, he was asked whether there should be an investigation into Raab’s behavior given the number of complaints reported – and said that could not happen unless witnesses came forward. “There are established procedures for people to raise concerns. In all workplaces – private, public – if people have concerns they should raise them because, unless people raise them, it’s hard for people to look at them and make any changes that are necessary, so they will I encourage people to do so. These procedures are confidential and are appropriate to use.” The Guardian reported that former Foreign Office permanent secretary Simon MacDonald warned Raab about the way he treated officials in his private office and then raised his concerns with the fitness and ethics team at the Cabinet Office. MacDonald, who is now a peer, confirmed the report, telling Times Radio: “It was language, it was tone, he would be very sharp with people. He did this in front of many other people. I think people felt humiliated. I tried to have that conversation with him.” He also confirmed that he spoke informally at the Cabinet Office. The former foreign ministry chief said Raab, who has denied the allegations, was unaware of the impact his behavior had on people. “When I worked for him, Dominic Raab was not aware of the impact of his behavior on the people who worked for him and could not make him see that impact. Colleagues did not complain to me officially. It was something of a professional pride for them to pull through,” he said. “But many were afraid to go to his office. His sort of defense was that he treated everyone in the building the same way. He was as harsh and controlling with junior ministers and senior officials as he was with his private secretaries.’ McDonald said he hopes Sunak will reform the system for dealing with bullying complaints. He said: “What we have at the moment is not fit for purpose. Action is only taken if there is a formal complaint and there is a feeling in the system that the system is being stacked in favor of the minister or senior official. So people are reluctant to make a formal complaint because of the effect on themselves.” Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Dave Penman, head of the FDA union which represents senior civil servants, called on Sunak to reform the complaints system to help tackle a “toxic work culture” in Whitehall. In a letter, Penman urged the prime minister to appoint a new independent ethics adviser. The post has been vacant for five months since Lord Geidt resigned in June amid concerns over Boris Johnson’s role in the Partygate scandal. Downing Street said the recruitment process was progressing “at a pace”. The Guardian also reported that a senior official at the Department for Exiting the European Union handed the Cabinet a document about Raab’s alleged bullying of staff when he was Brexit secretary. Other reports suggest that Cabinet Secretary Simon Case was aware of Raab’s alleged behavior at the Ministry of Justice. A spokesman for Raab said: “The deputy prime minister worked in government for more than seven years as a minister or secretary of state in four departments and enjoyed strong working relationships with officials across Whitehall. He consistently holds himself to the highest standards of professionalism and has never received or been informed of any formal complaint against him.” Contact the team securely: create a Protonmail account and email us at [email protected] or use Signal Messenger or WhatsApp to send a message to +44 7824 537227.
