‘Patel demanding but no bully’ – Brokenshire
PRITI Patel is a “demanding” boss but she is not a bully, one of her senior Home Office colleagues said following a series of claims about feuding at the top of her department.
Ms Patel has expressed her concern at “false allegations” that she says are being made about her amid claims she clashed with senior officials, belittled colleagues and is distrusted by intelligence chiefs.
An ally said the Home Secretary was “absolutely livid” about the recent slew of allegations and insisted she was demanding a leak inquiry to be carried out by the Cabinet Office.
However, Cabinet Office sources were adamant that a request had not been received either formally or informally yet.
Security Minister James Brokenshire described the reports as “absolute nonsense”.
He conceded that there is “huge frustration” across the Home Office around some of the “false assertions that have been made publicly” about Ms Patel.
“I don’t accept those assertions that have been seen in the press about the Home Secretary,” he told Sky News. “Yes, she is demanding, but in that role you have to be because you are dealing with some of the most sensitive, some of the most challenging things that you have to deal with across Government.”
The Government on Sunday moved to strongly deny claims that MI5 chiefs do not trust Ms Patel and were limiting intelligence sharing.
The latest allegation came after she was accused of bullying officials and creating an “atmosphere of fear” at the department, which allies denied.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said later that Boris Johnson has “full confidence” in Ms Patel.