Rishi Sunak told of Dominic Raab’s ‘unacceptable behaviour’ over summer before appointing him to cabinet, source says

Published

3 years ago

February 1, 2023

admin

Rishi Sunak was told about Dominic Raab’s “unacceptable behaviour” over the summer before he became prime minister and appointed the deputy PM to his cabinet role, a source has alleged to Sky News.

The source told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby that Mr Sunak was made aware of Mr Raab’s conduct but the PM was never “directly told” about specific issues.

Downing Street has said Number 10 officials never advised the PM against appointing Mr Raab.

Asked whether Mr Sunak was made aware of Mr Raab’s “unacceptable behaviour” last summer before he started appointing his top team, the PM’s press secretary said: “The PM was not aware of any formal complaints at the time of appointing Dominic Raab.”

Sunak attacked for how he handled two Tory controversies – politics latest

The press secretary added that she “can’t comment on any private investigations that may or may not have happened” involving Mr Sunak.

Pressed further, she said: “I don’t know what your definition of informal complaints is. The PET (propriety and ethics team) processes are very clear.

“The appointments and usual processes were followed and we were not aware of any formal complaints.”

Mr Sunak has been urged to suspend the deputy prime minister while an investigation into bullying allegations is carried out.

The three permanent secretaries who led officials working under Mr Raab are thought to have given evidence to an inquiry into the deputy PM which is being led by senior lawyer Adam Tolley KC.

A total of eight formal complaints are believed to have been made.

Mr Raab has previously insisted he has “behaved professionally at all times” amid the allegations of bullying and intimidating behaviour.

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir Starmer branded Mr Sunak “weak” for keeping Mr Raab in his role.

The deputy PM was sat next to Mr Sunak in the Commons.

Sir Keir asked the PM if he was “completely unaware of serious allegations of bullying” against the deputy PM before he appointed him.

Mr Sunak replied: “The honourable gentleman ask these questions about what was known and I followed due process, I appointed an independent adviser as soon as I was made aware of new information.”

Probing further, the Labour leader continued: “According to recent reports, some of the complainants were physically sick. One says they were left suicidal.

“How would he feel if one of his friends or relatives was being forced to work for a bully, simply because the man at the top was too weak to do anything about it?”

The PM replied: “When I was made aware of formal complaints I instructed a leading independent KC to conduct an investigation because I take action when these things happen.”

Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby said the latest source allegation regarding what Mr Sunak knew about Mr Raab’s behaviour “will be worrying for those in Number 10”.

She said recent scandals – including the one involving former Tory chairman Nadhim Zahawi’s taxes – have cut through with the public and by focusing on these, “Sir Keir Starmer is hoping to keep up the appearance that Rishi Sunak’s government is mired in sleaze”.

Yesterday, Jacob Rees-Mogg warned that people are getting “a bit snowflaky” about bullying allegations levelled at government ministers.

The former cabinet minister told Sky News individuals should be “careful” when talking about accusations involving those including Mr Raab.

“It’s a very difficult line to judge. It’s not a straightforward issue in most cases. It’s how did somebody react, what did somebody say, is it reasonable to demand from senior and well-paid professionals a level of good service?” he said.

“And then you have to judge whether that line has been overstepped. But I do worry we are getting a bit snowflaky about this.”

Mr Rees-Mogg added that it is “completely sensible” for Mr Raab to remain in his position while the investigation into his conduct continues.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan told Sky News she disagreed with Mr Rees-Mogg’s comments.

Speaking to Kay Burley this morning, she said: “Well, I mean, I don’t agree with that. Bullying is very serious.”

His remarks were also condemned by a civil service union chief.

Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union, said: “Even by Rees-Mogg’s standards this is outrageous.

“A former leader of the House, trivialising bullying that we know has ruined lives and careers.”

Sky News understands Mr Raab has spoken to Mr Tolley once about the allegations but will need to again as they proceed to go through things department by department.

The cut off date for new allegations is understood to have not yet been decided.

The Liberal Democrats have called on the PM to suspend Mr Raab while the investigation into his conduct takes place.

The party’s chief whip Wendy Chamberlain said: “The reported scale of the allegations against Dominic Raab raises real questions for Rishi Sunak. Why hasn’t the prime minister suspended Raab yet, for the duration of this inquiry?”

World

What’s it like with the National Guard on the streets of DC?

Published

2 hours ago

August 22, 2025

admin

What's it like with the National Guard on the streets of DC?

👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈

What’s it like on the streets of DC right now, as thousands of federal police patrol the streets?

Who is Steve Witkoff, the US envoy regularly meeting Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu to broker peace in Ukraine and Gaza?

And why is Californian Governor Gavin Newsom now tweeting like Donald Trump?

Martha Kelner and Mark Stone answer your questions.

If you’ve also got a question you’d like the Trump100 team to answer, you can email it to trump100@sky.uk.

You can also watch all episodes on our YouTube channel.

World

It’s been a confusing week – and Trump’s been made to look weak

Published

2 hours ago

August 22, 2025

admin

It’s been a confusing week.

The Monday gathering of European leaders and Ukraine’s president with Donald Trump at the White House was highly significant.

Ukraine latest: Trump changes tack

The leaders went home buoyed by the knowledge that they’d finally convinced the American president not to abandon Europe. He had committed to provide American “security guarantees” to Ukraine.

The details were sketchy, and sketched out only a little more through the week (we got some noise about American air cover), but regardless, the presidential commitment represented a clear shift from months of isolationist rhetoric on Ukraine – “it’s Europe’s problem” and all the rest of it.

Yet it was always the case that, beyond that clear achievement for the Europeans, Russia would have a problem with it.

Trump’s envoy’s language last weekend – claiming that Putin had agreed to Europe providing “Article 5-like” guarantees for Ukraine, essentially providing it with a NATO-like collective security blanket – was baffling.

Russia gives two fingers to the president

And throughout this week, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has repeatedly and predictably undermined the whole thing, pointing out that Russia would never accept any peace plan that involved any European or NATO troops in Ukraine.

“The presence of foreign troops in Ukraine is completely unacceptable for Russia,” he said yesterday, echoing similar statements stretching back years.

Remember that NATO’s “eastern encroachment” was the justification for Russia’s “special military operation” – the invasion of Ukraine – in the first place. All this makes Trump look rather weak.

It’s two fingers to the president, though interestingly, the Russian language has been carefully calibrated not to poke Trump but to mock European leaders instead. That’s telling.

The bilateral meeting (between Putin and Zelenskyy) hailed by Trump on Monday as agreed and close – “within two weeks” – looks decidedly doubtful.

Maybe that’s why he went along with Putin’s suggestion that there be a bilateral, not including Trump, first.

It’s easier for the American president to blame someone else if it’s not his meeting, and it doesn’t happen.

NATO defence chiefs met on Wednesday to discuss the details of how the security guarantees – the ones Russia won’t accept – will work.

European sources at the meeting have told me it was all a great success. And to the comments by Lavrov, a source said: “It’s not up to Lavrov to decide on security guarantees. Not up to the one doing the threatening to decide how to deter that threat!”

The argument goes that it’s not realistic for Russia to say from which countries Ukraine can and cannot host troops.

Would Trump threaten force?

The problem is that if Europe and the White House want Russia to sign up to some sort of peace deal, then it would require agreement from all sides on the security arrangements.

The other way to get Russia to heel would be with an overwhelming threat of force. Something from Trump, like: “Vladimir – look what I did to Iran…”. But, of course, Iran isn’t a nuclear power.

Something else bothers me about all this. The core concept of a “security guarantee” is an ironclad obligation to defend Ukraine into the future.

Future guarantees would require treaties, not just a loose promise. I don’t see Trump’s America truly signing up to anything that obliges them to do anything.

A layered security guarantee which builds over time is an option, but from a Kremlin perspective, would probably only end up being a repeat of history and allow them another “justification” to push back.

Image and reality don’t seem to match

Among Trump’s stream of social media posts this week was an image of him waving his finger at Putin in Alaska. It was one of the few non-effusive images from the summit.

He posted it next to an image of former president Richard Nixon confronting Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev – an image that came to reflect American dominance over the Soviet Union.

That may be the image Trump wants to portray. But the events of the past week suggest image and reality just don’t match.

The past 24 hours in Ukraine have been among the most violent to date.

World

At least 17 dead in Colombia after car bombing and helicopter attack

Published

2 hours ago

August 22, 2025

admin

At least 17 dead in Colombia after car bombing and helicopter attack

At least 17 people were killed after a car bombing and an attack on a police helicopter in Colombia, officials have said.

Authorities in the southwest city of Cali said a vehicle loaded with explosives detonated near a military aviation school, killing five people and injuring more than 30.

Authorities said at least 12 died in the attack on a helicopter transporting personnel to an area in Antioquia in northern Colombia, where they were to destroy coca leaf crops – the raw material used in the production of cocaine.

Antioquia governor Andres Julian said a drone attacked the helicopter as it flew over coca leaf crops.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro attributed both incidents to dissidents of the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

He said the aircraft was targeted in retaliation for a cocaine seizure that allegedly belonged to the Gulf Clan.

Who are FARC, and are they still active?

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a Marxist guerrilla organisation, was the largest of the country’s rebel groups, and grew out of peasant self-defence forces.

It was formed in 1964 as the military wing of the Colombian Communist Party, carrying out a series of attacks against political and economic targets.

In 2016, after more than 50 years of civil war, FARC rebels and the Colombian government signed a peace deal.

It officially ceased to be an armed group the following year – but some small dissident groups rejected the agreement and refused to disarm.

According to a report by Colombia’s Truth Commission in 2022, fighting between government forces, FARC, and the militant group National Liberation Army had killed around 450,000 people between 1985 and 2018.

Both FARC dissidents and members of the Gulf Clan operate in Antioquia.

It comes as a report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime found that coca leaf cultivation is on the rise in Colombia.

The area under cultivation reached a record 253,000 hectares in 2023, according to the UN’s latest available report.