By Tony O’Reilly-
The allegations of bullying against Dominic Raab may be serious enough to warrant him being stripped of his Mp status .
Raab, (pictured)the former deputy prime minister and justice secretary’s resignation, after an independent investigation found him guilty of bullying behaviour.
Despite his denials, there is evidence of his bullying , which he still has not attempted to invalidate.
He was warned by ex civil servant Simon McDonald, the master of Christ’s College and former diplomat, who criticised Dominic Raab’s behavioural conduct in an interview with the BBC last weekend
In the interview, McDonald described Raab as a “tough taskmaster” whose “methods did not help him achieve what he wanted to do” and that his “behaviour was making his professional life more difficult”.
McDonald said he raised behavioural concerns with Dominic Raab “more than once”, but that Raab was not willing to listen and “disputed” the claims, adding that he felt that labelling the behaviour as bullying “would have been too aggressive”.
McDonald only worked in the foreign office for Raab’s first year before retiring, but said Raab’s behaviour “had not reached that stage” to call it bullying.
Parliament’s standards commissioner has already been facing calls to open an inquiry into Dominic Raab’s conduct, while a local campaign has been launched calling for the former justice secretary to step down as an MP.
A complaint is apparently being filed with Daniel Greenberg, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, stating that the revelations over Raab’s bullying of officials could amount to “serious breaches of the code of conduct for members of parliament”.
Parliamentary rules stating that MPs must “treat their staff and all those visiting or working for or with parliament with dignity, courtesy and respect” and “never undertake any action which would cause significant damage to the reputation and integrity of the House of Commons”.
Despite resigning, Raab spoke out against the report, calling the findings “flawed” and claiming that the inquiry “set a dangerous precedent”. Whilst the former deputy PM blamed “activist civil servants” for his downfall, Christ’s Master Simon McDonald has publicly underlined that “the issue is a minister’s behaviour”
Further evidence that suggests the weight of allegations against Raab carry weight was provided by Gina Miller, a prominent businesswoman and campaigner, has accused Raab of bullying her during her campaign against the government’s plans for Brexit. She claimed that Raab had used “threatening language” towards her and had tried to intimidate her during their conversations.
In addition to the allegations of bullying, Raab has also been accused of mistreating his staff. A former member of his staff, who worked with him when he was the Brexit Secretary, has alleged that Raab was “overbearing” and “unpleasant” towards his staff. The former employee also claimed that Raab had a tendency to “humiliate” his staff in front of others.
Another allegation against Raab concerns an incident involving a BBC journalist.
Gina Miller has claimed that Raab swore at a BBC journalist who had parked his car outside Raab’s house. The journalist allegedly moved his car, but Raab still swore at him.
These allegations and the report have raised questions about Raab’s suitability to hold public office. Should he no longer be an MP? The answer is not a simple one.
The bullying allegations and mistreatment of staff are serious and should not be taken lightly. If as true as they seem, they demonstrate a lack of respect for others and a disregard for basic human decency.
The circumstances of each allegation is worth taking into account, but it is clear there is no room for bullying ny Mps.
It is also worth considering Raab’s track record as an MP. He has been a prominent figure in the Conservative Party for many years and has held a number of high-profile roles. He has been a vocal advocate for Brexit and was once considered a rising star in the party.