Sir Gavin Williamson
(Picture: PA Wire)Bullying complaints have been made about several ministers in Rishi Sunak’s government, the head of the civil servants union has claimed.
FDA chairman Dave Penman said staff have raised concerns about the conduct of a number of high-profile MPs.
It comes as deputy prime minister Dominic Raab faces bullying allegations and Sir Gavin Williamson resigned from the Government last week after allegedly telling a civil servant to “slit your throat”.
Mr Penman said staff felt unable to raise official complaints about ministers because Parliament does not have an “effective system” for dealing with them.
Asked whether civil servants have complained to the union about inappropriate behaviour from other ministers in Mr Sunak’s government, Mr Penman told Sky News: “Yes.”
He added: “There are concerns raised about a number of ministers. That’s essentially a constant in government. It’s not just about this government, it’s about every government...this isn’t just about Dominic Raab or Gavin Williamson. It’s about the entire system... if you don’t have an effective system for dealing with this kind of behaviour it almost encourages it.”
Mr Penman has written to the Prime Minister warning that officials have “little confidence” in the existing ministerial complaints process.
The PM has come under pressure over his judgment after Sir Gavin resigned last week following bullying and threatening behaviour allegations.
He also faced criticism for reinstating Suella Braverman as Home Secretary just six days after she quit for breaking the ministerial code.
Speaking from the G20 summit in Indonesia, Mr Sunak said: “I don’t recognise that characterisation of Dominic and I’m not aware of any formal complaints about him”.
