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LONDON — Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has resigned following an investigation into bullying complaints found he had been “unreasonably and persistently aggressive” towards staff.
Raab, who also served as U.K. justice secretary, was accused of bullying several current and former members of Whitehall staff during his tenure in government.
In a letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Friday, Raab — who had pledged to resign if found to have bullied officials — said it was “important to keep my word,” but argued that the inquiry had “set a dangerous precedent” by “setting the threshold for bullying so low.”
Sunak tasked the senior lawyer Adam Tolley with carrying out an independent probe into the complaints following a barrage of negative media reports.
Tolley’s report centered on eight formal complaints against Raab. It found “no persuasive evidence” that he shouted or swore at individuals in his department, and acknowledged he is “demanding, driven and focused on detail,” a “legitimate” style of management.
But the most damning part of Tooley’s report centers on a complaint from his time as foreign secretary. Raab, the inquiry found, “acted in a way which was intimidating” and had been “unreasonably and persistently aggressive in the context of a workplace meeting.”
“His conduct also involved an abuse or misuse of power in a way that undermines or humiliates. In particular, he went beyond what was reasonably necessary in order to give effect to his decision and introduced a punitive element,” Tooley said of that incident.
“His conduct was bound to be experienced as undermining or humiliating by the affected individual, and it was so experienced. I infer that the DPM must have been aware of this effect; at the very least, he ought reasonably to have been so aware.”
In his exit letter, Raab wrote: “Whilst I feel duty bound 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.”
Sunak to Raab: You kept your word
Responding to his outgoing deputy, Sunak heaped praise on Raab’s service in government and steered clear of commenting on the report’s findings.
He said Raab had “kept his word,” but that there had been “shortcomings in the historic process that have negatively affected everyone involved. We should learn from this how to better handle such matters in future.” The prime minister’s spokesperson on Friday would not confirm whether or not Sunak would have fired Raab had he not resigned.
The opposition Labour Party seized on the delay between Sunak receiving the report Thursday and Raab’s resignation Friday.
Deputy Leader Angela Rayner said in a statement: “Rather than showing leadership, the prime minister has proven himself too weak to give Dominic Raab his marching orders. He’s failed to root out bullying from his own Cabinet and he’s failing to deliver the integrity he promised.”
Raab has not gone quietly. In his letter to the PM, he argued that ministers “must be able to give direct critical feedback on briefings and submissions to senior officials,” and said he had not “shouted at anyone, let alone thrown anything or otherwise physically intimidated anyone, nor intentionally sought to belittle anyone.” The ex-justice secretary swiftly took to the op-ed section of the right-leaning Daily Telegraph to decry the “Kafkaesque saga” he said he had endured.
‘Damning indictment’
The FDA union, representing senior civil servants, is meanwhile demanding an overhaul of Whitehall’s system for handling complaints lodged by officials against ministers.
Its General Secretary Dave Penman said Raab’s resignation was “not a vindication of the current system,” but instead marked a “damning indictment of the inadequacy of a process that relies solely on the prime minister of of the day to enforce standards.”
Raab — who ran for Conservative leader in 2019 – previously served as U.K. foreign secretary under Boris Johnson, but was demoted in 2021 following his department’s bungled handling of the U.K. withdrawal from Afghanistan. He also served briefly as Brexit secretary under Theresa May, but quit that post in protest at her doomed Brexit deal.
This developing story is being updated. Emilio Casalicchio contributed reporting.
