United Kingdom Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab resigned on Friday, following an inquiry into bullying allegations.
In a letter addressed to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and published on his Twitter account, Raab states he “called for the inquiry and undertook to resign, if it made any finding of bullying whatsoever. I believe it is important to keep my word.”
NewsClick Nigeria reports that Sunak launched an independent investigation into Raab’s behavior in November, after eight formal complaints were lodged by at least 24 staff members during Raab’s time as justice minister, foreign minister and Brexit minister.
Sunak said in a statement Friday that it was “with great sadness” that he had accepted Raab’s resignation, while noting “shortcomings in the historic process that have negatively affected everyone involved.”
“You had – rightly – undertaken to resign if the report made any findings of bullying whatsoever. You have kept your word,” he added.
The findings of the report, which were delivered to Sunak on Thursday, were released shortly after Raab’s resignation.
Raab said the investigation carried out by senior lawyer Adam Tolley had dismissed all but two of the claims leveled at Raab, which he noted are “flawed and set a dangerous precedent for the conduct of good government.”
“Mr Tolley concluded that I had not once, in four and a half years, sworn or shouted at anyone, let alone thrown anything or otherwise physically intimidated anyone, nor intentionally sought to belittle anyone,” Raab wrote in reference to some of the claims leveled against him.
“I am genuinely sorry for any unintended stress or offence that an officials felt, as a result of the pace, standards and challenge that I brought to the Ministry of Justice,” he added.
…Successor named
Meanwhile, the British Government has named Oliver Dowden as the country’s deputy prime minister following Raab’s resignation.
Sunak’s appointment of Dowden as Deputy Prime Minister cements his reputation in government as the prime minister’s right-hand man, after a stint in the Cabinet Office where he was responsible for coordinating the government’s response to winter strikes.
Dowden was culture, media and sport secretary for 18 months in Boris Johnson’s government, during which time he provided emergency funding for the arts during the pandemic and also banned Huawei from UK 5G networks, the Guardian UK reports.
Also, lawmaker Alex Chalk was appointed new justice minister, a position which was previously held by Raab.
