Cabinet Office opens investigation into Patel bullying claims as new allegations emerge
Priti Patel faced mounting pressure to resign yesterday after fresh bullying allegations emerged just hours after the Cabinet Office announced it had launched an investigation into mistreatment claims against the home secretary.
According to legal correspondence seen by the BBC, a former aide to Patel received a £25,000 government payout after claims she was the subject of “an unprovoked level of aggression” from the then-employment minister.
The legal documents show that a junior employee at the Department for Work and Pensions submitted a formal complaint of unfair dismissal, harassment, victimisation and discrimination in October 2015 after being shouted at and told to “get lost” by Patel.
The civil servant took an overdose of prescription medicine in an attempt to take her own life shortly after the alleged incident, according to the report.
The former aide subsequently threatened to bring a legal claim of discrimination on the grounds of race and disability against Patel and the department. The aide was told by a government official that she had been sacked because “[Patel] doesn’t like your face,” the BBC reported.
However, the case failed to reach a tribunal after a £25,000 settlement was agreed in 2017. The Department for Work and Pensions did not admit liability. Patel denies the claims.
The explosive allegations came to light just hours after Boris Johnson announced he had launched a Cabinet Office investigation into previous claims of bullying and harassment against Patel by her permanent secretary Sir Philip Rutnam.
Rutnam announced his shock departure as the Home Office’s most senior official on Saturday after accusing Patel of engineering a “vicious” campaign against him. In a letter addressed to the public, Rutnam condemned Patel’s conduct towards staff, stating that she fostered an environment of “swearing, belittling people, [and] making unreasonable and repeated demands”.
He added that he now intends to sue the Home Office on the grounds of constructive dismissal after allegedly being forced out of his job after 33 years in the role.
Rutnam’s allegations followed a spate of claims by former staff that have trickled in over previous weeks that Patel created an “atmosphere of fear” within government.
Michael Gove announced the cabinet investigation in the Commons yesterday, stating that there would be a “thorough, rapid, independent and authoritative” probe to “establish the facts” surrounding complaints levelled against Patel across her career.
The minister for the Cabinet Office condemned attempts to “besmirch” Patel’s reputation and added that the home secretary “absolutely rejects” any allegations of bullying.
Johnson remained evenly split yesterday, saying that he had “absolutely every confidence” in Patel, whilst also affirming his “massive” trust in Whitehall’s top civil servants.
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