Raab bullying probe will be transparent, deputy PM says

Hours before, Raab asked the Prime Minister to launch a probe into the claims, which the PM accepted, saying he still had his “full confidence”.

With the Prime Minister flying back from Bali, Raab faced questions from Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner, both on the bullying allegations and on the economy.

She said: “After days of dodging and denial, this morning the Deputy Prime Minister finally acknowledged formal complaints about his misconduct, but his letter contains no hint of admission or apology.

“This is anti-bullying week. Will he apologise?”

Raab replied: “She asks about the complaints, I received notification this morning, I immediately asked the Prime Minister to set up an independent inquiry into them.

“I’m confident I behaved professionally throughout but of course I will engage thoroughly and look forward to transparently addressing any claims that have been made.”

He also said the recruitment of a new independent ethics adviser is “taking place at pace”, in response to a question from Rayner about when the Government would “drain the swamp”.

She said: “No ethics, no integrity, and no mandate, and still no ethics adviser. So when will they appoint an independent ethics adviser and drain the swamp?”

The Deputy Prime Minister replied: “The recruitment of the new ethics adviser is already underway and taking place at pace.

“May I say, there is a reason that she has come to the despatch box with her usual mix of bluster and mud slinging. It is because they don’t have a plan.”

Before PMQs, Raab published a letter to the PM, saying: “I have just been notified that two separate complaints have formally been made against me, in parallel, from my time as foreign secretary and my first tenure as justice secretary, which ended in September of this year.

“I am, therefore, writing to request that you commission an independent investigation into the claims as soon as possible. I will co-operate fully and respect whatever outcome you decide.”

The Conservative MP for Esher and Walton, in Surrey, told Mr Sunak he had “never tolerated bullying, and always sought to reinforce and empower the teams of civil servants working in my respective departments”.

Top Ministry of Justice officials had reportedly ruled there must be a senior civil servant in the room at all meetings involving Mr Raab due to the recent allegations – a claim he did not dispute when it was put to him.

It comes after it was reported that Philip Rycroft, the former permanent secretary to the Department for Exiting the European Union, raised concerns about Mr Raab’s behaviour during his time as Brexit secretary with the then-cabinet secretary Mark Sedwill.

Mr Raab was also reportedly warned about his behaviour towards officials while he was foreign secretary.

The concerns were reportedly raised with Mr Raab by Lord Simon McDonald, who was the senior civil servant at the Foreign Office, and the mandarin also informally discussed the situation with the Cabinet Office’s propriety and ethics team.