New problem for Sunak: British Deputy Prime Minister resigns

Less than two weeks before local elections in large swaths of England, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s deputy Dominic Raab has resigned amid allegations of intimidation.

Brexit hardliner Raab last served as justice minister in addition to deputy prime minister. With his resignation on Friday, he was responding to the findings of an inquiry into his conduct in various ministerial posts in recent years. Former Defense Secretary Alex Zack will now head the Justice Department. Oliver Dowden will be the Minister for Deputy Prime Minister.

The report partially confirmed the allegations against Raab. Among other things, he allegedly reprimanded staff or announced consequences if he was not satisfied with their work or their answers to his questions. Overall, he was said to have a great distrust of his staff, whom he suspected of wanting to sabotage his reform plans.

Rob doesn’t sound as insightful in his resignation letter. Of the many charges, only two of which were found to be justified, he defended himself. However, these represent a very low threshold and therefore a “dangerous paradigm”.

The moderator wrote that “not once in four and a half years have I insulted or yelled at anyone, thrown objects or otherwise physically threatened or intentionally humiliated anyone.” In a guest article published in “The Telegraph” newspaper on Friday, he described the approach to bullying allegations as “Kafkaesque”.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ordered an inquiry after allegations of former rap workers came to light. The head of government in a response expressed regret at the resignation but described it as the right thing to do. Rob was once considered Sunak’s closest ally. However, the chilly tone of his resignation letter was interpreted as a sign of a rift with the prime minister.

The Tories are lagging far behind opposition Labor in the nationwide polls for next year’s general election. If he does poorly in local elections due to hit much of England on May 4, that could put extra pressure on Chung.

Sunak faces an investigation into whether he breached the code of conduct for MPs. He was accused of not declaring a financial conflict of interest. It includes shares in a state-backed childcare company owned by his wife Akshata Murthy.