Ex-Deputy PM Dominic Raab has claimed he still has "integrity intact" - less than 48 hours after he was forced to resign over a bullying probe.
The unrepentant former Cabinet minister also demanded civil servants be subjected to a leak inquiry as he blasted a "trial by media".
He claimed he had been "inundated" by former ministerial colleagues "expressing their solidarity" - despite the stark findings of KC Adam Tolley's report.
Published on Friday the investigation found Mr Raab's conduct while Foreign Secretary "involved an abuse or misuse of power" that "undermines or humiliates"
Mr Raab's actions had a "significant adverse effect" on one colleague at the Foreign Office and he was also found to have been intimidating to staff by criticising "utterly useless" and "woeful" work while Justice Secretary, the report added.
But in an interview with the Mail on Sunday, Rishi Sunak's former deputy doubled down on his criticism of the civil service and called for an "independent leak inquiry".
He claimed: "The BBC has spent the last six months getting one or two sources who are breaching the Civil Service Code of Conduct and breaching the rules of the inquiry."
He told the newspaper the probe had not been "easy on the family" during what he described as a six-month "trial by media".
But he added: "I think I walk out of this with my head held high, my integrity intact".
Reports over the weekend suggested Mr Sunak’s aides plotted how to keep Mr Raab in post, fearing that if he was forced to quit it could trigger further complaints against up to three other Cabinet ministers.
A trio of the Prime Minister’s top team were on alert they could be targeted, according to The Sunday Times.
While No10 sources denied there was a "rearguard action" to save Mr Raab, one told the paper: "People were laying out options and testing them, working out where they would lead."
Appearing on Sky News's Sophy Ridge programme, his successor as Deputy PM, Oliver Dowden, swerved saying whether Mr Raab was a bully.
Mr Dowden said there was "nothing further" he could add to Mr Tolley's report.
He continued: "What I can say, though, is that Dom promised that if there was an adverse finding against him, he would resign.
"I've worked with Dom over a number of years, particularly I remember the time he took over from Boris when he was incapacitated.
"I know Dom is a man of his word and he resigned, and as the Prime Minister said I think that was the right thing to have done."
Asked whether Mr Raab would still be in position if he had not made the commitment to quit if found to have bullied, Mr Dowden called such a scenario "hypothetical".
On whether Mr Raab could return to Cabinet, he replied: "I think Dom has a huge amount that he has offered this country in the past. Clearly, decisions about who is in the Cabinet or not are purely the preserve of the Prime Minister."
