Dominic Raab has confirmed he will resign from government if an inquiry into his conduct concludes he bullied civil servants, as alleged by a series of officials.
“If an allegation of bullying is upheld, I would resign,” the justice secretary and deputy prime minister told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday. Raab has denied any bullying or other mistreatment of staff.
He faces claims from at least 24 civil servants, connected to not only the justice department, but also the Foreign Office and Brexit department, his former cabinet posts.
This month, the Conservative MP and former party chair Jake Berry said Raab should temporarily step aside from government pending the report by Adam Tolley KC, the senior employment barrister tasked by Rishi Sunak with looking into the allegations.
Raab said he believed this was not the correct thing to do. “First of all, that’s ultimately for the prime minister to decide. But if by lodging complaints you can knock out a cabinet minister or a senior figure, I’m not sure that’s right. We believe in innocent til proven guilty in this country.”
In a later interview with BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, asked whether he had reflected on his dealings with staff, Raab said: “Look, in terms of working style, falling short of any of the impropriety you refer to, of course we learn lessons as we go.
“That is part of the relationship with civil servants. But I’m confident that I’ve behaved professionally throughout. I think the lion’s share of the time, the vast majority of cases and the time we spend together, civil servants and ministers work very effectively together.”
Also speaking on the Kuenssberg show, Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA union, which represent senior civil servants, said he believed officials did not “have the confidence” to challenge bullying or harassment by senior figures.
Asked about Raab’s interview, Penman said: “The picture he paints is that everything is fine in the civil service and the relationship between ministers and civil servants is OK. That’s not the picture civil servants speak of, that’s not their experience.
“One in six are saying they have experienced bullying or harassment, or have witnessed that, in the last 12 months alone across 20 government departments. They don’t have the confidence of challenging those behaviours.”
