The UK Deputy Prime Minister, Dominic Raab, is under investigation over eight formal complaints of bullying made by at least 24 civil servants.
Staff were reportedly left feeling ‘suicidal’ and accused Mr Raab of behaving like a ‘controlling and abusive’ partner.
Some officials say that Mr Raab set impossible rules then belittled and humiliated them when they failed to deliver.
While other civil servants report having suffered breakdowns and losing weight due to the working environment.
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab is accused of leaving staff feeling ‘suicidal’ and behaving like a ‘controlling and abusive’ partner
A senior Tory has warned Rishi Sunak not to take a ‘snowflakey’ approach to bullying claims today as Dominic Raab faces fresh pressure
A source told The Mirror: ‘He changes his behaviour depending on whether you are a civil servant he has control over or another government minister.’
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is facing renewed questions about handing Mr Raab a senior government role after the bullying claims were made last March.
Downing Street sources told the Times that the prime minister was not ‘directly told’ and that officials never advised against appointing Raab.
Adam Tolley KC is leading an investigation into complaints over Mr Raab’s conduct, it is thought it could take weeks or months to complete.
The Guardian reported that former Foreign Office permanent secretary Simon McDonald gave evidence after admitting that the deputy prime minister could plausibly be characterised as a bully.
Reports say that Antonia Romeo, the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice, and Sir Philip Rycroft, who ran the Department for Exiting the European Union when Mr Raab was Brexit Secretary, have both now also been witnesses in the investigation.
Mr Raab served as foreign secretary, justice secretary and deputy Prime Minister under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
One civil servant claimed he was ‘very rude and abrasive, sometimes totally randomly’ and for ‘arbitrary’ reasons.
Mr Raab has repeatedly denied the bullying charges and promised to fully rebut the claims.
He has insisted he welcomes the probe and believes he behaved properly at all times.
But it is understood that a senior civil servant has given evidence in the inquiry.
Meanwhile Jacob Rees-Mogg insisted ministers must be able to make ‘reasonable’ demands of civil servants and ask whether they are providing ‘good service’.
Mr Rees-Mogg told Sky News: ‘I think we’ve got to be slightly careful about the bullying allegations.
‘We mustn’t be too snowflakey about it. People need to be able to say this job has not been done well enough and needs to be done better.
‘It’s a very difficult line to judge. It’s not a straightforward issue in most cases. It’s how did somebody react, what did somebody say, is it reasonable to demand from senior and well-paid professionals a level of good service? And then you have to judge whether that line has been overstepped. But I do worry we’re getting a bit snowflakey about this.’
He said it is ‘completely sensible’ for Mr Raab to remain in place while under investigation.