Dominic Raab, Britain's notoriously unpleasant deputy Prime Minister, resigned today after learning an official report into his bullying behavior would confirm accusations of "persistently aggressive conduct in the context of a work meeting". The report goes as softly as it can on him, rejecting most of the numerous complaints made and being published only after his resignation, but sustained two of the accusations.
Keir Starmer, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, criticized Sunak for letting Raab resign, rather than firing him. Speaking to the BBC on Friday, Starmer said the decision showed "weakness from top to bottom" of the government. "There's a double weakness here. He should never have appointed him and then he didn't sack him," he added. … Raab's resignation is a blow for Sunak who, despite coming from the right of the Conservative party himself, has been painted as softer than his predecessors Liz Truss and Johnson. The Johnson comparison is particularly pertinent as Sunak served as his Chancellor of the Exchequer during the Covid pandemic, only to offer his resignation as scandals engulfed the then-prime minister. Johnson allies believe that Sunak's resignation ultimately led to the end of his premiership and have not forgiven him.
It's a pervasive culture problem with the Tories: another top minister, Gavin Williamson, was also pushed out for recently for threatening workers, and yet another, Priti Patel, narrowly avoided it when a settlement was paid to someone she reportedly bullied.
