British Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab announced his resignation on Friday following the release of a report by independent lawyer Adam Tolley KC into allegations that he bullied government staff. The report was handed to PM Rishi Sunak before being published who has accepted Raab’s resignation already.
Prior to the release of the findings by Tolley, Raab had announced that he will immediately resign if allegations of bullying civil servants were proven true. In his resignation letter to the PM, Raab claimed that the outcome of the inquiry had set a ‘dangerous precedent’.
“Whilst I feel duty bound to accept the outcome of the inquiry, it dismissed all but two of the claims levelled against me. I also believe that its two adverse findings are flawed and set a dangerous precedent for the conduct of good government,” said Raab.
Raab’s political history
Raab first set foot in the power alleys of London in 2010 when he was elected as an MP from Esher and Walton when David Cameron came to power. Raab emerged as a leader alongside the likes of Liz Truss and Kwazi Kwarteng, both of whom had a disastrous spell in 10, Downing Street.
He played an important part in Britain’s rather tumultuous exit from the European Union. In 2018, he was named as the Brexit secretary but resigned four months later after disagreeing with former PM Theresa May’s draft Brexit withdrawal agreement.
The opposition parties often criticised Raab for not having a proper grasp of Brexit and what were its implications for the general public. As the Brexit secretary, Raab did not understand the importance of the Dover-Calais crossing for UK trade.
“I hadn’t quite understood the full extent of this, but if you look at the UK and look at how we trade in goods, we are particularly reliant on the Dover-Calais crossing,” he was quoted as saying by Politico.
How could it possibly come as a suprise to Dominic Raab that our most important trade gateway is that which is closest geographically to our most important market? https://t.co/kCSMWywsw7
— Brian Cox (@ProfBrianCox) November 8, 2018
However, after May quit, Raab attempted to succeed her and stood in the Conservative Party leadership election but could not go past the second ballot. After Boris Johnson ascended to power, Raab was appointed as the first secretary of state and foreign secretary from 2019 to 2021.
Notably, reports have claimed that even Johnson had directed Raab to keep his behaviour in check when dealing with office colleagues as well as party leaders.
In August 2021, Afghanistan was taken over by the Taliban as the Western-backed government forces looked helplessly. During such a pivotal moment in history, Raab was pictured on holiday with his family in Crete. the images of the foreign minister enjoying himself on a paddle board did not go down well with the British public as Raab faced widespread flak.
Sunak’s political credibility on line
Thus it came as a surprise to many that Sunak took a punt and appointed Raab as his deputy PM in the cabinet announcement last October. Even then, a section of Tory leaders demanded Sunak revisit the decision and take the right call.
Raab is the third Sunak government senior minister to depart in the last six months. After promising to deliver a government of ‘integrity’ it appears that the house of cards is coming down for Sunak.
If the report and its findings are as damning as some reports suggest, it could cast a shadow on Sunak’s credibility. After commissioning Tolley, Sunak bought some time for himself but the allegations have come back to haunt him and could potentially have serious ramifications.
(With inputs from agencies)
