Good morning. You might have thought, when Dominic Raab resigned on Friday because an investigation into bullying claims found that he had been “intimidating” and “unreasonably and persistently aggressive”, that his departure would represent a complete defeat. How else to interpret the conclusions from an independent KC that serious allegations against the deputy prime minister and justice secretary were true, and Rishi Sunak’s affirmation that it was right for Raab to go?
But in the days since, Raab and his allies have managed to sow a very different narrative, about “activist” and “over-unionised” officials. Now, even as former UK civil service chief Lord Kerslake warns today that Sunak needs to speak out against the “torrent of invective against the civil service”, the chief conclusion from a finding that Raab intimidated civil servants appears likely to be: it’s the civil servants’ fault.
Today’s newsletter, with Guardian political correspondents Pippa Crerar, Rowena Mason, and Aubrey Allegretti, is about how Raab mounted that PR fightback – and why may be in the government’s interests to let him.
One other thing: today is the first anniversary of First Edition. Toot! All we want for our birthday – which we reach with a cheering 277,000 subscribers – is for you to forward this to a friend and recommend they sign up, but you should also feel free to bake your own cake. Thanks, as always, for reading, and let us know how you think we’re doing by hitting reply. Here are the headlines.
Five big stories
Sudan | The two opposing forces in Sudan’s civil war have agreed a three-day ceasefire, which started at midnight. Two previous ceasefires have failed to hold during the ten-day conflict, which has killed at least 427 people so far and left many civilians desperately short of food, water and medicine.
CBI | The Confederation of British Industry has admitted it failed to “filter out culturally toxic people” from its ranks, leading to “terrible consequences”. The CBI president, Brian McBride, said that the organisation had “badly let down” its staff after revelations in the Guardian about alleged misconduct by employees, including two women who said they were raped.
Fox News | The far-right host Tucker Carlson has left Fox News, it was abruptly announced on Monday, in a decision that removes one of the US network’s most controversial figures a week after it settled a defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5m. Carlson reportedly learned of his firing 10 minutes before it was announced.
Labour | Diane Abbott could lose the chance to fight for the London seat she has held since 1987 if a Labour party investigation into her comments about racism drags on for months. As Keir Starmer described her letter to the Observer as antisemitic, it emerged that Abbott is unlikely to have the party whip restored before the end of an internal party inquiry into the issue.
Television | The former Strictly Come Dancing judge Len Goodman has died aged 78, his agent has said. Goodman, who became a judge on the show in 2004 and made his last appearance in 2016, was described as “a brilliant and kind man”. Read Mark Lawson’s tribute.
In depth: ‘It’s quite extraordinary how he sought to turn the situation to his own advantage’
Most ministers who resign after an official report severely criticises them might – to use the familiar euphemism – take time to reflect on their conduct. Not Dominic Raab, whose anger has been central to how his departure has been interpreted. “It’s a bit like watching the football – there’s no point in endlessly blaming the referee,” he told the Mail on Sunday – and yet in multiple media appearances, his view of the referee and the rules of the game have been hard to escape.
“It’s quite extraordinary how he sought to turn the situation to his own advantage,” Rowena said. “It happened really swiftly, and it almost seemed to have the support of No 10.”
Let’s take time to reflect on how he did it.
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Raab set the agenda by getting his defence in first
At 9.48am on Friday, Dominic Raab published his letter of resignation on Twitter – but also said that the findings against him in Adam Tolley KC’s inquiry were “flawed and set a dangerous precedent”. The vast majority of the letter set out a case for the defence.
At 10.59am, an article in the same vein by Raab appeared on the Daily Telegraph. The report itself (pdf) was not sent to journalists until 11.27am. “He had the time and space to lay out his case,” Aubrey said. “He was able to present his claims about what was in the report before anyone could see it – his anger drove the agenda.”
The rush to reach a view of Tolley’s findings – you can read a comprehensive summary here – stand in contrast to the care taken over the preparation of the report itself. “He was incredibly thorough,” said Pippa – conducting 66 interviews in total and speaking to Raab four times. “Anyone reading it will have seen how careful and methodical it was.”
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No 10 gave him room for manoeuvre
Rishi Sunak’s letter (pdf) said it was right that Raab had promised to resign if the report made any finding of bullying. But he did not say explicitly that he agreed with the outcome or was satisfied with the process.
Rowena reported Downing Street sources saying that Sunak did not ask Raab to resign; Sunak’s official spokesperson declined to condemn his behaviour outright. The Sunday Times reported (£) that No 10 advisers “wanted to save Dominic Raab’s job” but concluded that his departure was inevitable.
“The way Sunak approached it gave Raab the chance to make his own arguments, and get backbench Tory MPs onside,” Rowena said. “No 10 may think that helps them make changes that the civil service would warn against in the future.” Cynics might also wonder if it paves the way for blaming officials for failures on issues like immigration or long waits for passports and driving tests in the run-up to the next election.
As well as real loyalty to Raab, a steadfast ally during last year’s leadership contest, it may have been seen as important to ensure Raab’s own continued support. “Over the weekend, Raab has praised Sunak, and said he’s going to be the best prime minister the country has ever seen,” Pippa noted. “He doesn’t look like someone who’s going to hold the PM’s feet to the fire.”
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Friendly newspapers and backbenchers echoed his arguments
By Saturday morning, an array of conservative outlets had lined up behind Raab, with many backbench Tory MPs and peers taking a similar line. They expanded the terrain from criticisms of the civil servants in particular to a wider case against “Remainers” and “snowflakes” who were too “woke” to handle the workplace. Lord Lilley feared that under such conditions, “we would have found it quite difficult to win both world wars”.
“Watching the right’s line take shape around Dominic Raab, the former deputy prime minister and justice secretary, over the weekend was almost beautiful,” Zoe Williams wrote yesterday. “So coordinated, so graceful, like synchronised swimming.”
“There has long been a thread running through consecutive Conservative governments about the problems with the so-called ‘blob’,” Rowena said – using the shorthand for a perceived reluctance among civil servants to enact rightwing policies. “Now the story is that this was an activist campaign, which is not what the evidence suggests.”
Given that the complaints upheld by Tolley related to Raab’s conduct with middle-aged senior civil servants who have worked successfully with other Conservative ministers, the implications that some sort of Gen Z, anti-authority coup is under way – with the support of the lefty BBC – seem implausible. Nick Macpherson, former permanent secretary to the Treasury, pointed out that Antonia Romeo – the Ministry of Justice permanent secretary who told Tolley she had twice warned Raab about his behaviour – was viewed as sufficiently professional to have been wanted at the Treasury by Kwasi Kwarteng.
Even so, the argument that the real lesson was that the civil service is inadequate kept coming up. Nick Timothy wrote in the Telegraph (£) that civil service headcount should be halved, and pay doubled; Camilla Tominey, also in the Telegraph, said that (£) the “central flaw” in the “work-shy” civil service is that “it cares more about feelings and workplace happiness than outcomes”; and Francis Maude, who is leading a review of the civil service, suggested in the Observer that it was time to be “more robust and less mealy mouthed about ‘politicisation’”. That helped to shift the focus away from Raab’s conduct.
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Civil servants were unable to defend themselves
When Pippa asked sources who had complained about Raab whether they would speak out over the weekend, “there were no takers”, she said. “They feel that the ultimate sanction for his behaviour was him losing his job, and that has now happened. It’s been an incredibly stressful, difficult experience for them – they want to get on with their lives.”
Understandable though that is, it also points to the one-sided nature of the argument about Raab’s exit. For example, while the Telegraph was told that one of the cases involved the British ambassador to Spain, Hugh Elliott, and Raab could write about that case in his column, Elliott and others are bound from responding by their continuing government jobs.
Into this void, others like FDA trade union leader Dave Penman and former foreign office chief Simon McDonald have attempted to speak up on their behalf. Both dismissed the idea that ministers are vulnerable to unjustified attacks from politically-motivated officials: “In the last five years there have only been two formal complaints against ministers,” Penman said. “Both have actually been found in favour of the complainant. That’s against Priti Patel and now Dominic Raab. So if there’s somehow this activist culture, how is it actually manifesting itself?”
Nonetheless, Raab’s defence strategy points to the battle ahead, said Rowena. “Even though he’s gone and that might be expected to draw a line under it, the wider attack on the civil service is really just hotting up.”
What else we’ve been reading
Getting regular and good sleep is a crucial part of staying healthy, but what about the people who are too scared to? Amy Fleming spoke to people with somniphobia, a fear of falling asleep, about the debilitating effects of sleep deprivation and what treatments might help. Nimo
Hollie Richardson writes about a relatable new TV show that finally shows the awful reality of Britain’s housing crisis. Hannah J Davies, deputy editor, newsletters
BuzzFeed News pulled down its metaphorical shutters last week, and now all that remains is an archived website. Alaina Demopoulos looks at the online graveyard of late news sites and blogs and what they say about a tumultuous era in online publishing. Nimo
Something gobbled: an impressive Vogue piece by Tom Rasmussen, who swerved expensive wedding caterers and adopted a potluck approach for his nuptials. Hannah
A small public library in Montana became the epicentre of a battle about censorship and inclusivity. For the New Yorker (£), E Tammy Kim spoke to the people, past and present, involved in the fight. Nimo
Sport
Football | Tottenham have sacked Cristian Stellini (above) as caretaker manager in the wake of the 6-1 humiliation at Newcastle on Sunday, and replaced him with another interim – his assistant, Ryan Mason – as the crisis engulfing the club took another turn. Chairman Daniel Levy described the Newcastle result as “wholly unacceptable” but added that “ultimately the responsibility is mine”.
Football | Chelsea are closing in on appointing Mauricio Pochettino as their head coach. The former Tottenham manager, unemployed since leaving Paris Saint‑Germain last summer, emerged as the frontrunner after Julian Nagelsmann withdrew from the race at the end of last week.
Olympics | Plans to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes without direct military links to compete at the Paris Olympics are open to abuse and deeply concerning, the UK culture secretary will warn on Tuesday. In a speech to the Council of Europe, Lucy Frazer will also tell the International Olympic Committee that the links between state, military and sport in both countries are “root and branch”.
The front pages
“CBI admits future in doubt after failing to ‘filter out toxic people’” – that’s the Guardian’s front-page lead today. Page one also features the exodus from warring Sudan, which is the lead in the Daily Mirror: “71 NHS docs trapped”. The i has “Stranded Brits face three-day drive in Sudan war zone to reach Royal Navy ships” while the Times says “Race against time to save 4,000 trapped to Sudan”. The Metro gives the same headcount and demands “Get them out”.
Several papers pay pictorial tribute to Len Goodman including the Daily Mail which says “Farewell to Len, the Strictly perfect 10” – its lead story is “Business blasts Rishi’s ‘own goal’ over tourist tax”. The Daily Express continues its campaign against what it calls “gender extremists” with “A pledge from our PM to hearten Britain’s women”. International affairs dominate the Daily Telegraph’s front page: “Xi prepares ‘biggest military build-up in history’”. The top story in the Financial Times is “China rebound makes LVMH first European group to hit $500bn value”.
Today in Focus
A bullying politician or snowflake civil servants? The downfall of Dominic Raab
The former deputy prime minister may have resigned but he remains defiant after an inquiry into bullying allegations. What does the scandal tell us about the relationship between ministers and Whitehall?
Cartoon of the day | Ben Jennings
The Upside
A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad
Churpi is a dried snack enjoyed by Himalayan people in Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet and eastern India. It is fermented and smoked for months, sometimes even years, to form a bland hard cheese that is high in protein and other nutrients and is an important staple to herders who live in the resource-scarce highlands. Now, Churpi has found a new home in the US after Nishes Shrestha brought some back with him after visiting family in Nepal. A friend of his noticed Shrestha’s dog enjoying chewing on the cheese and the pair decided to see if other dogs would be interested too. They have since launched their own company, Himalayan Pet Supply to see yak churpi to US dog owners.
Exporting churpi created a profitable new market for herders and has solved the problem of excess milk going to waste. Churpi generated $22m in 2021-22 in Nepal, selling to at least 30 pet companies. It has improved the lives of many pastoralists: “Since I’ve been running this business, I have been able to eat much better food, and pay for salt and oil without worry,” says Sharmila Rai, who has been making churpi for 16 years.
Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday
Bored at work?
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