Dominic Raab: Sam Coates on PM’s difficult judgements

Dominic Raab today quit Rishi Sunak’s Cabinet following the conclusion of an inquiry into bullying allegations. The Deputy Prime Minister, who is also Justice Secretary, fell on his sword after an investigation by senior lawyer Adam Tolley KC upheld two of eight complaints against him.

But Mr Raab made clear he did not agree with the findings, branding them “flawed”.

And he warned that “setting the threshold for bullying so low, this inquiry has set a dangerous precedent”.

The Prime Minister received the report from Mr Tolley yesterday and had been considering the findings since.

In a resignation letter posted on Twitter this morning, Mr Raab said: “I am writing to resign from your government, following receipt of the report arising from the inquiry conducted by Adam Tolley KC.

“I called for the inquiry and undertook to resign, if it made any finding of bullying whatsoever. I believe it is important to keep my word.

“It has been a privilege to serve you as Deputy Prime Minister, Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor.

“I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work as a minister in a range of roles and departments since 2015, and pay tribute to the many outstanding civil servants with whom I have worked.

“Whilst I feel dutybound to accept the outcome of the inquiry, it dismissed all but two of the claims levelled against me.

“I also believe that its two adverse findings are flawed and set a dangerous precedent for the conduct of good government.”

Mr Raab continued: “First, ministers must be able to exercise direct oversight with respect to senior officials over critical negotiations conducted on behalf of the British people, otherwise the democratic and constitutional principle of ministerial responsibility will be lost.

“Second, ministers must be able to give direct critical feedback on briefings and submissions to senior officials, in order to set the standards and drive the reform the public expect of us.

“Of course, this must be done within reasonable bounds. Mr Tolley concluded that I had not once, in four-and-a-half years, sworn or shouted at anyone, let alone thrown anything or otherwise physically intimidated anyone, nor intentionally sought to belittle anyone.”

The MP for Esher and Walton said he was “genuinely sorry for any unintended stress or offence that any officials felt, as a result of the pace, standards and challenge that I brought to the Ministry of Justice”.

But he added: “That is, however, what the public expect of ministers working on their behalf.”

The full inquiry has not yet been published by Downing Street, but Mr Raab in his resignation warned that the probe’s findings would have damaging consequences for Government.

Mr Raab said: “In setting the threshold for bullying so low, this inquiry has set a dangerous precedent.

“It will encourage spurious complaints against ministers, and have a chilling effect on those driving change on behalf of your government – and ultimately the British people.”

Mr Raab has been under investigation for months over eight formal complaints about his behaviour as foreign secretary, Brexit secretary and during his first stint as justice secretary.

Mr Tolley is said to have been “thorough” in his handling of the investigation, which began in November.

He interviewed Mr Raab multiple times, and spoken to or taken written evidence from a number of others.

It comes after former Conservative Party chairman Sir Jake Berry hit out at the “outdated” system for dealing with complaints in Westminster which allowed Mr Raab to continue in his job while under investigation.

Sir Jake said it was “wrong” for Mr Raab to continue in his job while facing bullying allegations.

Appearing on ITV’s Peston show last night, the Tory MP said: “It does seem to me quite wrong that when people are under these kinds of investigations of this type that they continue in their job.

“Whatever the outcome is, and we’re going to find out tomorrow, I actually think there’s a fundamental rethink required about how we deal with these sorts of allegations, both in Government made against ministers and made against Members of Parliament.

“It’s a massively outdated system that isn’t what our constituents would expect of any of us.”

It emerged on Wednesday that Mr Raab had forked out for his own legal team to defend himself against the allegations.

The declaration in the heavily delayed register of ministerial interests came despite the taxpayer footing an estimated £222,000 bill for Boris Johnson’s legal fees in the partygate inquiry into whether he lied to MPs.

In the register, Mr Raab’s entry notes read: “The minister has engaged lawyers at his own expense in relation to the investigation being conducted by Adam Tolley KC.”

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