- Chris Mason
- Political Affairs Editor, BBC News
At least three senior civil servants who worked with Dominic Raab have provided evidence to the ongoing investigation into his behaviour.
The BBC has been told that one such employee is Sir Philip Rycroft, who was in charge of the department charged with leaving the European Union when Raab was Brexit Secretary.
The BBC believes the employee or other witness is the current permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice, Antonia Romeo.
Raab, who is currently the justice minister and deputy prime minister, has denied the bullying allegations.
A third permanent secretary from one of the ministries where Raab worked told the BBC that he had given his testimony as a witness in an interview.
The position of Permanent Secretary is the largest government position in the British civil service, and manages the incumbents of government departments.
Raab, who is also deputy prime minister, faces multiple complaints from civil servants who worked with him in a range of government departments.
Senior lawyer Adam Tully was asked to start investigating the allegations in November and has been conducting his interviews in recent weeks.
On Monday, the BBC reported that at least one permanent secretary who worked with Raab had given evidence in the investigation.
The BBC has learned today that two others have also provided evidence.
It is understood that Raab held an initial meeting with Tully, but has not yet sat down with him at length for a substantive conversation about the allegations against him.
Tully’s report is not expected to be completed in the coming weeks.
Privately many Conservative MPs, including ministers, fear the allegations could cost Raab his job.
“He should have left (the ministry) a long time ago,” one minister told the BBC, describing the situation as a “ticking time bomb”, adding that Raab was “totally unsuitable for a senior position”.
Another person who worked with Rapp said his behavior was “arbitrary and snappy”, “very tough on junior staff” and “very difficult to work with”.
But a former senior civil servant who worked with Raab said, “He was very professional for me.”
He described Rap as an “incredibly hard worker” and “a lot of requests”.
“He has high expectations of everyone he works with, and if you’re not, it’s good to be prepared for that. It’s tough. There’s perfectionism and perfectionism that is required,” he added.
In a related context, the Labor Party and the Liberal Democrats called on the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, to suspend Rap’s work during the period of his investigation.
But Sunak said he would wait for the outcome of Tully’s investigation before taking any action.
Former Conservative cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said it was “entirely reasonable” that Raab would remain in office during the investigation.
Asked about the allegations of bullying against the deputy prime minister, Rees-Mogg told Sky News: “I think we have to be a little careful about the allegations of bullying.”
“We shouldn’t be cold about it. People should feel able to say about any business that it’s not done well enough, it needs to be done better,” he added.
The Union of Managers and Public Service Professionals, which represents civil servants, called the comments “disgraceful”.
The union’s general secretary, Dave Penman, accused Reece-Mogg of “minimizing bullying, which we know destroys public and professional life”.
Labor said Rhys-Mogg “was seeking to downplay serious allegations of bullying and intimidation” against Raab and “should be ashamed of himself”.
Raab served as Minister for Justice and Deputy Prime Minister in Boris Johnson’s government.
He was sacked by Liz Terrace, who briefly succeeded Johnson, but was re-appointed to the positions by her successor, Sunak.
Raab also held the position of Foreign Minister in Boris Johnson’s government from 2020 to 2021, after he was Minister for Brexit (Brexit from the European Union) in 2018.
He told the BBC last week: “I am confident I have acted professionally throughout and the government has a zero tolerance approach to bullying.”
He added that he “was always conscious and attentive to his behavior and the way he dealt with others,” but “he made no apologies for his commitment to high standards at work.”