UK PM Sunak Faces Calls to Fire His Deputy Raab Following Allegations of Bullying

Dominic Raab, the UK deputy prime minister, has contributed to the growing troubles for UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak after allegations of bullying and abrasive behaviour surfaced against him.

Tory party chair Nadhim Zahawi’s sacking following his failure to declare an HMRC investigation into his tax affairs has already put Sunak in a tight spot.

Dominic Raab Serves as Sunak’s deputy. In the latest cabinet reshuffle following Sunak’s election, he was given the post of deputy prime minister.

The 10 Downing Street has refused to comment on whether it received complaints regarding Raab’s behaviour before he was appointed to the cabinet, the Guardian said in a report.

Raab also serves as UK’s justice secretary.

Rishi Sunak’s Press Secretary Michelle Donelan refused to be drawn on whether the UK prime minister was aware of possible complaints regarding Raab’s treatment of civil servants, who accused him of bullying and abrasive behaviour.

“The prime minister was not aware of any formal complaints at the time of appointing Dominic Raab. Following formal complaints being made, the prime minister asked for the facts to be established,” Donelan was quoted as saying by the Guardian.

There were concerns regarding the deputy prime minister’s behaviour when he previously served as Brexit secretary, the Observer reported. The Times also in its report cited officials and said that there were ‘issues’ with Raab.

At least 24 civil servants have complained against Raab and his conduct. These allegations are being investigated by Adam Tolley KC, an outside employment barrister appointed by Sunak, the Guardian reported.

Raab has denied the allegations levelled against him.

Top UK civil servants from the Brexit department, the Foreign Office and the justice department will provide evidence against Raab. Raab has been the minister of all of these departments.

The Association of First Division Civil Servants, now known as the FDA Union, which represents senior civil servants, said that since the claims are serious, Raab should be suspended until the investigation is completed.

Labour Party leader Keir Starmer said UK PM Sunak was weak to not act when he first came across the allegations against Raab. Starmer also compared Sunak to his predecessor Johnson.

“He’s just like one of his predecessors, who treated questions about conduct as something to brush off, who thought that ducking responsibility was a perfectly reasonable response for a prime minister,” Starmer was quoted as saying by the Guardian.

“His predecessor didn’t go around pretending he was a paragon of integrity and accountability,” Starmer was quoted as saying.

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