Dominic Raab says he makes ‘no apologies for having high standards’ as he denies bullying allegations
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Dominic Raab has said he makes “no apologies for having high standards” as he declined to comment on the status of a bullying inquiry against him.
Downing Street launched an investigation into the Deputy Prime Minister’s behaviour last month after several of his current and former staff claimed to have been bullied or harassed by him.
Mr Raab, who became Justice Secretary in October, faces eight formal complaints over alleged bullying including at least five from senior civil servants working in the Ministry of Justice.
The independent investigation, led by Adam Tolley KC, is also examining complaints against Mr Raab spanning his time as foreign secretary and Brexit secretary.
Speaking to the BBC this morning, he said: “As I’ve been clear all along, I’ve behaved professionally throughout. I don’t think I have done anything wrong.
“So look, of course I’m always mindful of the way I behave. But actually I think what people want to know is that their Government ministers are striving every sinew to deliver for them and I make no apologies for having high standards, for trying to drive things forward.”
Mr Raab added that he was “confident” he had tried to “really push things forward and drive things forward… in a professional way” throughout his time in Government.
He has repeatedly refused calls to resign and insisted this morning that he called for the independent investigation himself “rather than dealing with this through the sort of ‘he said she said’ or anonymous leaking via the media”.
However, the Deputy Prime Minister has faced calls from senior figures in the Conservative Party to step down from his Cabinet role while the bullying complaints are investigated.
Jake Berry, the former Tory party chairman, said last month that keeping Mr Raab in place was a “hard line for the government to maintain”, adding: “In the real world, people will look at this and say it doesn’t feel right.”
It comes after an internal Whitehall survey revealed that a third of staff in ministerial private offices at Mr Raab’s department have claimed to have been bullied or harassed by colleagues while working in their current Ministry of Justice roles in the past year.
Ten of the 33 people who worked most closely with the Justice Secretary said they had been a victim of bad behaviour in the workplace — a fourfold increase the year before and higher than the civil service-wide figure of eight per cent.
One official who had worked with Mr Raab has said that he imposed “arbitrary” demands and was often “randomly” rude. They said his requests were often contradictory, including complaining that he had been given too much reading material for a car journey on one occasion and then complaining about being given too little on the next.
Another staff member accused the Justice Secretary of hurling tomatoes from a Pret a Manger salad across a table in frustration on one occasion because he “wasn’t happy with the way he was being briefed”’.
Mr Raab has dismissed the allegations as “complete nonsense” and said he “always acts with the utmost professionalism”.
No 10 has not released any details of when the investigation into bullying claims against Mr Raab is set to conclude.
Mr Tolley, a prominent lawyer, has been tasked with “establishing the specific facts” about formal complaints lodged against the Deputy Prime Minister.
He will report to Rishi Sunak, who will make the final judgement on whether Mr Raab’s conduct breached the ministerial code and whether he should resign.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said: “There is zero tolerance for bullying across the civil service. The deputy prime minister leads a professional department, driving forward major reforms, where civil servants are valued and the level of ambition is high.
“There is an independent investigation underway that is being overseen by the Cabinet Office and it would be inappropriate to comment further on issues relating to it until it is completed.”