Dominic Raab faces new questions about his conduct towards junior colleagues and is now supposed to have a senior official in the room at all meetings.
Raab, who is deputy prime minister and justice minister and is currently preparing to replace Sunak in the PMQs while he attends the G20 summit in Bali, already faces a series of accusations that he intimidated officials, was abrupt and demeaning to them. .
Meanwhile, Philip Rycroft, the former permanent secretary of the Department for Exit from the European Union, has also raised concerns about Raab’s behavior during his time as Brexit secretary with then-Cabinet Mark Sedwill, The Guardian reported.
Furthermore, while Raab was foreign secretary, he was reportedly warned about his behavior towards officials. Lord McDonald, the chief official at the Foreign Office, raised the concerns with him and had several conversations with the head of the decorum and ethics (PET) team at the Cabinet Office between 2019 and 2020 on the issue.
Speaking on LBC on Monday, McDonald acknowledged that the allegations that Raab could be a bully were plausible. Asked by LBC radio about the characterization of Mr. Raab as someone who can bully and around whom bullying could occur, he replied: “Yes.”
Raab, who is deputy prime minister and justice minister and is preparing to replace Sunak in the PMQs, already faces a series of accusations that he intimidated officials and was abrupt and degrading to them.
Philip Rycroft, the former permanent secretary of the Department for Exit from the European Union, pictured, expressed concern about Raab’s behavior during his time as Brexit secretary with then-Cabinet Mark Sedwill, The Guardian reported.
Lord McDonald added: ‘Dominic Raab is one of the most motivated people I have ever worked for, he was a tough boss.
“Maybe they’re euphemisms, but I worked very closely with him and I didn’t see everything that happened.”
According to The Guardian’s sources, Lord McDonald spoke to Raab on several occasions about how he treated staff in his private office and during meetings, although neither made an official complaint.
Speaking on Times Radio yesterday, Lord McDonald also claimed that staff were “afraid” to enter the minister’s office. He said: ‘Colleagues did not formally complain, it was a kind of professional pride to cope, but many were afraid to go to his office.
‘His kind of defense was that he treated everyone in the building the same. He was just as abrasive and controlling with junior ministers and senior officials as he was with his private secretaries.
Lord McDonald, the chief official at the Foreign Office, pictured, expressed concern about Raab’s behavior towards him and had several conversations with the head of the decorum and ethics (PET) team at the Cabinet Office between 2019 and 2020 on the subject.
The colleague added that Mr Raab could be “very abrupt” with people and left staff feeling “degraded”.
He said: ‘I tried to have that conversation with him, had several conversations with him.
“But I wouldn’t be surprised today if I said, ‘I don’t recognize that,’ because I felt at the time that my message wasn’t getting through.”
The prime minister, who is in Bali for the G20 summit, has so far backed his deputy, who will replace him at PMQs on Wednesday. Sunak told reporters traveling with him to Bali: “I don’t recognize that characterization of Dominic and I’m not aware of any formal complaints about him.”
‘Of course there are established procedures for officials if they want to bring up any issue. I am not aware of any formal complaints about Dominic.
And yesterday, questioned by ITV News, he said: ‘I am not and have not been aware of any formal complaints about Dominic’s behaviour.
‘Of course, there are processes in place 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 really look at them and make the changes that are necessary.
‘So I would urge people to do that. These processes are confidential and it is right that they be used.’
A spokesperson for Mr Raab told The Guardian: “Dominic had frequent discussions with his permanent secretary at the Foreign Office about how best to run the department and ensure it met the highest standards in difficult circumstances such as during Covid”.
FDA chief Dave Penman, pictured, urged Sunak to appoint a new independent adviser on the interests of ministers. In a letter to the Prime Minister, FDA Secretary General Dave Penman said: “As we have seen in recent weeks, there is increasing scrutiny over the conduct of ministers and, in particular, allegations of intimidation, behavior that has no place in a modern workplace’
Sunak was urged by the head of the FDA union, which represents senior civil servants, to appoint a new independent adviser on ministers’ interests. The post has been vacant since Lord Geidt resigned in June and overhauled the grievance system to help tackle a “toxic work culture” at Whitehall.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, FDA Secretary General Dave Penman said: “As we have seen in recent weeks, there is increasing scrutiny over the conduct of ministers and, in particular, allegations of intimidation, behavior that has no place in a modern workplace.’
He has asked Mr Sunak to review the grievance system to address a “toxic work culture” at Whitehall.
Deputy Labor leader Angela Rayner demanded an independent inquiry into Raab. She said: “Rishi Sunak clearly knew about Dominic Raab’s reputation when he reappointed him to his cabinet.”
The Liberal Democrats have written to Cabinet Secretary Simon Case to request that a list of ministers with “credible allegations of bullying” against them be published.
Deputy Labor leader Angela Rayner demanded an independent inquiry into Raab. “Rishi Sunak clearly knew of Dominic Raab’s reputation when he reappointed him to his cabinet,” she said.
The allegations against Raab come a week after Sunak was upset by the resignation of Gavin Williamson as Cabinet Office minister amid separate allegations of intimidation.
The prime minister also continues to face scrutiny over his decision to reappoint Suella Braverman as home secretary, just six days after she was forced to resign over security breaches.
Labor MP Angela Rayner has called for an independent inquiry into Raab.
The allegations against Raab come a week after Sunak was upset by the resignation of Gavin Williamson as Cabinet Office minister amid separate allegations of intimidation.
Mr Raab’s spokesman said: ‘Dominic has acted with professionalism and integrity in all his government roles.
‘He has an excellent track record of driving positive change across multiple government departments by working well with officials.
“He demands from everyone, and especially from himself, the high standards that the British people would expect of their government.”
MailOnline contacted the Ministry of Justice and Dominic Raab’s spokesman for comment.