London. British Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab announced his resignation on Friday after an independent report. determined that he had morally harassed officials, a setback for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, of whom he was a close ally.
“I am writing to resign from your government,” Raab, who was also justice minister, wrote in a letter to Sunak. “I requested this investigation and I promised to resign if I established facts of harassment, whatever they were. I think it is important to respect my word,” he added.
Accepting his resignation, Sunak expressed “great sadness” and praised Raab’s years of service in various governments, without questioning his behaviour.
The 49-year-old Eurosceptic lawyer, who came from the right-wing ranks of the Conservative Party, is fond of karate – a discipline in which he has a black belt – and boxing and has been praised by some colleagues for “athlete discipline”.
In April 2020, he replaced Boris Johnson as head of government while the then prime minister was in intensive care due to covid-19.
Cabinet minister Oliver Dowden will replace him as deputy prime minister and Alex Chalk MP and former lawyer as Justice, Downing Street announced.
“Discredit and Humiliate”
The investigation was launched following eight complaints about Raab’s behavior when he was foreign minister and Brexit minister, as well as during an earlier stint at the Justice Ministry.
Raab has always denied these accusations, which drew much criticism from the Labor opposition.
The report, delivered to the prime minister on Thursday, dismisses several accusations but considers that he behaved “intimidating, in the sense of a continuous and disproportionately aggressive attitude” during a work meeting.
He also considers that he made “misuse of his power”, the consequence of which was to “discredit and humiliate” an employee.
The former minister, who has always denied these accusations, insisted on Friday that he continues to consider them “false.”
“By setting such a low threshold for harassment, the investigation sets a dangerous precedent” in government work, he lashed out. “Ministers should be able to criticize directly” the work of senior officials, she added, acknowledging that “this must of course be done within reasonable limits.”
Third resignation in the government
The Guardian newspaper reported in November that Raab’s appointment as justice minister had caused concern among many officials and that some had considered resigning.
According to this British newspaper, ministry staff had described a “culture of fear” in a department run by a “rude” and “aggressive” tyrant.
The Sun tabloid reported that Raab had thrown tomatoes in a fit of anger during a meeting, which his spokesman denied at the time.
He is the third minister to leave the Sunak Executive following various accusations and eclipses the conservative prime minister’s promise to show “integrity, professionalism and responsibility” a little more after the succession of scandals that marked Boris Johnson’s term.
In November, Gavin Williamson, a minister without a portfolio, resigned over harassment allegations. And in January, Sunak had to remove Conservative Party Chairman Nadhim Zahawi, who was part of the government, over fiscal issues.
The new scandal comes at a bad time for the formation, two weeks before local elections that are expected to be complicated for some conservatives who have been in power for 13 years.
