Rishi Sunak told of Dominic Raab’s ‘unacceptable behaviour’ over summer before appointing him to cabinet, source says
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.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘I’ve behaved professionally at all times’
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.
Read more: What has led to the deputy prime minister being investigated?
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”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Tory party’s ‘addiction to sleaze’ has done ‘damage to the country’
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.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘I worry that we are getting too snowflaky’
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
Body of missing rabbi Zvi Kogan found in UAE – as Israeli PM says he was murdered in ‘antisemitic terror incident’
The COP29 climate talks have reached a last ditch deal on cash for developing countries, pulling the summit back from the brink of collapse after a group of countries stormed out of a negotiating room earlier.
The slew of deals finally signed off in the small hours of Sunday morning in Azerbaijan includes one that proved hardest of all – one about money.
Eventually the more than 190 countries in Baku agreed a target for richer polluting countries such as the UK, EU and Japan to drum up $300bn a year by 2035 to help poorer nations both curb and adapt to climate change.
It is a far cry from the $1.3trn experts say is needed, and from the $500bn that vulnerable countries like Uganda had said they would be willing to accept.
But in the end they were forced to, knowing they could not afford to live without it, nor wait until next year to try again, when a Donald Trump presidency would make things even harder.
Bolivia’s lead negotiator Diego Pacheco called it an “insult”, while the Marshall Islands’ Tina Stege said it was “not nearly enough, but it’s a start”.
UN climate chief Simon Stiell said: “This new finance goal is an insurance policy for humanity, amid worsening climate impacts hitting every country.
“No country got everything they wanted, and we leave Baku with a mountain of work still to do. So this is no time for victory laps.”
The funding deal was clinched more than 24 hours into overtime, and against what felt like all the odds.
The talks were rocked from the start by the incoming presidency of climate denier Mr Trump, the moment Argentina’s team were recalled back to Buenos Aires by their right-wing president and a controversial letter that sent shockwaves through the United Nations.
Pic: AP
The fraught two weeks of negotiations pitted the anger of developing countries who are footing the bill for more dangerous weather that they did little to cause, against the tight public finances of rich countries.
A relieved Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, climate envoy for Panama, said there is “light at the end of the tunnel”.
Just hours ago, the talks almost fell apart as furious vulnerable nations stormed out of negotiations in frustration over that elusive funding goal.
They were also angry with oil and gas producing countries, who stood accused of trying to dilute aspects of the deal on cutting fossil fuels.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Climate-vulnerable nations storm out of talks
The UN talks work on consensus, meaning everyone has to agree for a deal to fly.
A row over how to follow up on last year’s pledge to “transition away from fossil fuels” was left unresolved and punted into next year, following objections from Chile and Switzerland for being too weak.
A draft deal simply “reaffirmed” the commitment but did not dial up the pressure in the way the UK, EU, island states and many others here wanted.
Saudi Arabia fought the hardest against any step forward on cutting fossil fuels, the primary cause of climate change that is intensifying floods, drought and fires around the world.
Governments did manage to strike a deal on carbon markets at COP29, which has been 10 years in the making and will allow countries to trade emissions cuts.
‘Not everything we wanted’
👉 Tap here to follow the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts 👈
The UK’s energy secretary, Ed Miliband, said the deal is “not everything we or others wanted”, but described it as a “step forward”.
“It’s a deal that will drive forward the clean energy transition, which is essential for jobs and growth in Britain and for protecting us all against the worsening climate crisis,” he added.
“Today’s agreement sends the signal that the clean energy transition is unstoppable.
“It is the biggest economic opportunity of the 21st century and through our championing of it we can help crowd in private investment.”
Protesters at the summit in Baku. Pic: AP
Read more:
Azerbaijan president hails oil and gas as ‘gift from God’
UN climate summits ‘no longer fit for purpose’
The Azerbaijan team leading COP29 said: “Every hour of the day, we have pulled people together. Every inch of the way, we have pushed for the highest common denominator.
“We have faced geopolitical headwinds and made every effort to be an honest broker for all sides.”
At least 20 people have been killed and 66 injured in Israeli strikes on central Beirut, Lebanese authorities have said.
Lebanon‘s health ministry said the death toll could rise as emergency workers dig through the rubble looking for survivors. DNA tests are being used to identify the victims, the ministry added.
The attack destroyed an eight-storey residential building and badly damaged several others around it in the Basta neighbourhood at 4am (2am UK time) on Saturday.
The central Basta neighbourhood in Beirut
The Israeli military did not warn residents to evacuate before the attack and has not commented on the casualties.
At least four bombs were dropped in the attack – the fourth targeting the city centre this week.
A separate drone strike in the southern port city of Tyre this morning killed two people and injured three, according to the state-run National News Agency.
The victims were Palestinian refugees from the nearby al Rashidieh camp who were out fishing, according to Mohammed Bikai, spokesperson for the Fatah Palestinian faction in the Tyre area.
Israel’s military warned residents today in parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs that they were near Hezbollah facilities, which the army would target in the near future. The warning, posted on X, told people to evacuate at least 500 metres away.
The army said that over the past day it had conducted intelligence-based strikes on Hezbollah targets in Dahiyeh, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. It said it hit several command centres and weapons storage facilities.
Pic: AP
Israel has killed several Hezbollah leaders in air strikes on the capital’s southern suburbs.
Heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is ongoing in southern Lebanon, as Israeli forces push deeper into the country since launching a major offensive in September.
According to the Lebanese health ministry, at least 3,670 people have been killed in Israeli attacks there, with more than 15,400 wounded.
It has displaced about 1.2 million people – a quarter of Lebanon’s population – while Israel says about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed in northern Israel.
Read more:
No 10 indicates Netanyahu would be arrested
‘Dozens’ of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrike
Meanwhile, six people, including three children and two women, were killed in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis.
Some 44,176 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry.
The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, but it has said that more than half of the fatalities are women and children.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage.
US envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region this week to try to end more than 13 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, ignited last October by the war in Gaza.
Mr Hochstein indicated progress had been made after meetings in Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday, before going to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Israel Katz.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports8 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway