After allegations of bullying: British Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab resigns

British Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Dominic Raab has resigned over allegations of bullying. He was reacting to the results of an investigative report on his behavior as a minister. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ordered the investigation after allegations by former Raab employees became known. Raab asked for an investigation in November after complaints against him became known.

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Raab announced in a letter on Friday that he was resigning from his post. He felt obliged to accept the outcome of the investigation into the allegations made against him. At the same time, he continued to reject the allegations of bullying. The report was handed over to Sunak on Thursday, but the content was initially unknown.

According to Raab, only two of a number of allegations were recognized as justified. The assessor also stated “that not once in four and a half years have I insulted or shouted at anyone, nor thrown objects or otherwise physically intimidated or intentionally humiliated anyone”.

Raab did not say which allegations were confirmed. But he thinks the decision was wrong. Defining bullying in such a low-threshold also sets a dangerous precedent, he wrote. However, he apologizes for “any unintended stress or offense that I have brought to the Department of Justice through pace, standards or challenges,” the ex-minister said.

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The Sun reported in November that the former Brexit negotiator had thrown tomatoes from a salad across the room in a fit of rage. A spokesman for Raab denied this. Again Guardians reported that during Raab’s first term as Minister of Justice from September 2021 to September 2022, a “climate of fear” was said to have prevailed in his ministry. The department head was “manipulative” and “aggressive”.

For Prime Minister Sunak, the discussion about Raab comes at an inopportune time. Regional elections are due in Great Britain in May, and the Tories fear high losses. According to a recent survey, 44 percent of Britons believe that Sunak knew about the allegations against Raab when he brought him into his cabinet.

At his internal party election in October, the prime minister announced, among other things, that he wanted to restore “integrity, professionalism and responsibility” in government after the scandalous tenure of his predecessor Boris Johnson and Liz Truss’ brief interlude. Raab is the third senior government official under Sunak to resign because of his personal conduct.

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