Johnson stands by minister found to have bullied staff

LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson refused to fire or censure his interior minister on Friday despite an investigator’s conclusion that she bullied members of her staff.

A report said Home Secretary Priti Patel had not met the standards required of a government minister, and concluded her behavior fit the definition of bullying.

Cabinet ministers found to have breached the ministerial code are generally expected to resign. But the government said the prime minister had “full confidence” in Patel and “considers this mater now closed.”

Johnson’s adviser on ministerial standards Alex Allan, who led the investigation into Patel, resigned instead, saying he could not continue in his job.

“I recognize that it is for the prime minister to make a judgment on whether actions by a minister amount to a breach of the ministerial code,” Allan said. “But I feel that it is right that I should now resign from my position as the Prime Minister’s independent adviser on the code.”

Patel has been under investigation since March ater several civil servants accused her of bullying. The top civil servant in the Home Office, Philip Rutnam resigned that month, saying Patel had belitled employees and fostered an environment of fear in the department. She denied the allegations.

The investigation’s conclusions were published Friday ater months of delay by Johnson’s office.

Allan concluded that Patel “has not consistently met the high standards required by the Ministerial Code of treating her civil servants with consideration and respect.”

He said there were “occasions of shouting and swearing” that had upset people, though he accepted that Patel may not have intended to have that effect.

“Her approach on occasions has amounted to behavior that can be described as bullying in terms of the impact felt by individuals,” Allan said. “To that extent her behavior has been in breach of the Ministerial Code, even if unintentionally.”

He said that Patel also felt, “justifiably in many instances,” that there was a lack of support and responsiveness from senior civil servants.