Dominic Raab bullying report has led to ‘complete breakdown in trust between ministers and civil servants’, thinktank says
The investigation into claims former deputy prime minister Dominic Raab bullied staff has led to a “complete breakdown” in trust between ministers and civil servants, a thinktank has said.
Alex Thomas, programme director at the Institute for Government, said the inquiry has exposed “deep flaws” in the process for handling poor ministerial behaviour and that raising a complaint is still seen as “a sure-fire way to end a civil service career”.
Mr Raab, who had been a close ally of Mr Sunak, resigned as deputy prime minister and justice secretary on Friday after a report upheld two out of eight bullying complaints against him.
In the aftermath of his resignation, Mr Raab launched a tirade against “activist civil servants” who he argued had the ability to stand in the way of minister’s democratic mandate by making complaints about ministers charged with implementing changes.
He added the inquiry had set a “dangerous precedent” by setting a “low” threshold for bullying, which he said will “encourage spurious complaints”.
‘A systemic problem’
Reacting to the report published by independent investigator Adam Tolley KC, Mr Thomas said: “(The) system can only function if there is a high level of trust between politicians and the officials who serve them.
“The Raab mess has meant a complete breakdown, with leaks and acrimony amongst all parties, ending a ministerial career and leaving officials disillusioned and in some cases traumatised.”
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Raab on ‘activist civil servants’
Criticising the complaints process, he added: “The truth is that it is extremely difficult for junior private secretaries and others to register formal concerns. The strong career incentive is not to make a fuss, to show maximum resilience and to help smooth away behaviour problems rather than address the underlying issue.
“That is the reason it took a co-ordinated group of junior staff to make a complaint: not a conspiracy but a systemic problem.”
Dominic Raab resignation letter
Sunak accepted Raab’s departure with ‘great sadness’
Mr Sunak had received Mr Tolley’s report on Thursday morning but had spent close to 24 hours deliberating over whether to sack his deputy before Mr Raab decided to walk.
In a letter to Mr Raab, the prime minister said he accepted the resignation with “great sadness”.
He also said there had been “shortcomings in the historic process that have negatively affected everyone involved”, adding: “We should learn from this how to better handle such matters in future.”
Rishi Sunak letter to Dominic Raab
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Raab was ‘intimidating’ to staff
Mr Raab’s conduct had a “significant adverse effect” on one colleague and he was also found to have been “intimidating” to staff by criticising “utterly useless” and “woeful” work while justice secretary, the report said.
Though he stopped short of describing the conduct as bullying, Mr Tolley’s findings were consistent with what he said would amount to the offence under the ministerial code.
Bullying complaints described as ‘snowflakery’
Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA – a union representing senior civil servants, including some of the complainants against Mr Raab – called for an independent inquiry into ministerial bullying and a change to how complaints are handled following the investigation.
Number 10 has vowed to learn the lessons in terms of dealing with concerns about working practices in a “timely manner” but has so far refused to undertake a shake-up of the internal government complaints process.
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Meanwhile, several Tory MPs have spoken out against Mr Tolley’s findings.
Former minister Jacob Rees-Mogg described complaints against Mr Raab as “snowflakery” in an interview with GB News.
Junior whip Joy Morrissey tweeted: “Sadly, we now live in a country where the definition of bullying includes telling someone to do their job. Where the slightest upset or annoyance is indulged with endless reports and inquiries.
“Where whining, taking offence and narcissistic victimhood have become the defining characteristics of our times – as the uncomplaining and silent majority look on in disbelief.”
A Gaza deal is “on the brink”, President Joe Biden has said in his final foreign policy address.
The outgoing US leader said it would include a hostage release deal and a “surge” of aid to Palestinians.
“So many innocent people have been killed, so many communities have been destroyed. Palestinian people deserve
peace,” he said.
“The deal would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel, and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started.”
Pic: Reuters
The US president also hailed Washington’s support for Israel during two Iranian attacks in 2024.
“All told, Iran is weaker than it’s been in decades,” he said.
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Mr Biden was delivering his final foreign policy address before he leaves office next week.
Monday’s address will be the penultimate time he speaks to the country before the end of his presidency. He is due to give a farewell address on Wednesday.
US and Arab mediators made significant progress overnight toward brokering a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and the release of scores of hostages held in the Gaza Strip – but a deal has not been reached yet, officials said.
A round of ceasefire talks will be held in Doha on Tuesday to finalise remaining details related to a ceasefire deal in Gaza – including over the release of up to 33 hostages – officials added.
Mr Biden went on to claim America’s adversaries were weaker than when he took office four years ago and that the US was “winning the worldwide competition”.
“Compared to four years ago, America is stronger, our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are
weaker,” he said.
“We have not gone to war to make these things happen.”
World
IDF admits ‘serious offence’ after using vehicle marked ambulance in raid in which a grandmother was killed
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has admitted to a “serious offence” after a Sky News investigation analysed CCTV footage showing the moment an 80-year-old Palestinian grandmother was shot in the West Bank.
Halima Abu Leil was shot during a raid in Nablus. The grandmother died soon after.
During the course of the investigation, we noted that a blue vehicle marked as an ambulance and with a red light on its roof was used by IDF troops to enter the West Bank.
Our investigation stated: “Figures who appear to be Israeli military forces exit the ambulance in the foreground. They are equipped with helmets, backpacks, rifles, and other gear.”
The use of a marked medical vehicle for a security operation could be a contravention of the Geneva Convention and a war crime – as well as Halima’s killing.
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CCTV shows Palestinian grandmother shot in IDF raid
The IDF has subsequently told Sky News: “On December 19, 2024, soldiers from the ‘Duvdevan’ unit took part in an operational mission to detain terrorists in Nablus.
“During the operation, an ambulance-like vehicle was used for operational purposes, without authorisation and without the relevant commanders’ approval.”
It added: “The use of the ambulance-like vehicle during the operation was a serious offence, exceeding authority, and a violation of existing orders and procedures.”
It also said the commander of the ‘Duvdevan’ unit was “reprimanded”.
However, it gave no update into the death of Halima, saying “the circumstances of the incident are being examined”.
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The United Nations Special Rapporteur on occupied Palestinian territory Francesca Albanese watched the CCTV video and told Sky News her death could be a “war crime”.
She said: “When I look at the footage, what emerges prima facie is that there were no precautions taken – within these operations whose legality is debatable – to avoid or spare civilian life.
“No principle of proportionality because there was wildfire directed at the identified target and ultimately no respect for the principle of distinction.
“So this was a murder in cold blood and could be a war crime as an extrajudicial killing.”
According to the United Nations Office Of Human Rights in occupied Palestinian territory, Israeli security forces and settlers have killed at least 813 mostly unarmed Palestinians, including 15 women and 177 children, since 7 October 2023.
Ukraine’s president is offering a prisoner swap with North Korean soldiers it has captured, in exchange for Ukrainians held by Russia.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made a direct appeal to leader Kim Jong Un after seizing two North Koreans in Russia’s Kursk region.
“In addition to the first captured soldiers from North Korea, there will undoubtedly be more. It’s only a matter of time before our troops manage to capture others,” he said in a video posted on X.
His video also included an offer of help to officials in California fighting the ongoing fires there.
It is the first time Ukraine has announced the capture of North Korean soldiers since their entry into the nearly three-year-old war last autumn.
Ukrainian and Western assessments say that some 11,000 troops from Russia‘s ally North Korea have been deployed in the Kursk region to support Moscow’s forces, although Russia has neither confirmed nor denied their presence.
Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un met in Pyongyang to sign a ‘military pact’ in June 2024. Pic: Kremlin Photo/AP
Mr Zelenskyy has said Russian and North Korean forces had suffered heavy losses.
“Ukraine is ready to hand over Kim Jong Un’s soldiers to him if he can organise their exchange for our warriors who are being held captive in Russia,” Mr Zelenskyy added.
He posted a short video showing the interrogation of two men, presented as North Korean soldiers.
One of them is lying on a bed with bandaged hands, the other is sitting with a bandage on his jaw.
Ukraine said on Saturday it had captured two North Korean soldiers. Pic: Volodymyr Zelenskyy/X
One of the men said through an interpreter that he did not know he was fighting against Ukraine and had been told he was on a training exercise. He said he hid in a shelter during the offensive and was found a couple of days later.
He said that if he was ordered to return to North Korea, he would, but he was ready to stay in Ukraine if given the chance.
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Sky News has not been able to verify the video.
“One of them (soldiers) expressed a desire to stay in Ukraine, the other to return to Korea,” said Mr Zelenskyy, adding that for North Korean soldiers who did not wish to return home, there may be other options available.
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