Raab has right to fair hearing over bullying claims, Shapps insists
DOMINIC RAAB deserves a fair hearing over the bullying allegations against him before people “jump to a conclusion” that would end his career, a Cabinet colleague has said.
Grant Shapps, the Business Secretary, insisted it was right that the Deputy Prime Minister gets to go through a “proper process” after another senior minister called for him to resign.
He backed Rishi Sunak’s decision not to suspend his second-in-command, which has come in for flak from Labour and some Tory MPS who are uneasy over his handling of the affair.
It comes after it emerged that 27 officials are represented by a single joint complaint against Mr Raab, who has been accused of acting in an intimidating way towards his staff.
Mr Shapps told GB News: “I don’t want to see a situation where the moment someone says something everyone says, ‘Oh well that’s it they should be suspended.’
“I don’t think anybody would think it was fair if someone or a series of people made accusations – and there are a series of people who say that’s not true – was all it took to get you suspended and potentially destroy your career.
“I’m talking about anyone here. It is right to follow a proper process and not to jump to a conclusion without ever having heard any of the evidence.”
He said that his “personal experience” of Mr Raab was that “I’ve only ever seen him being very polite, not only to me but to other officials”.
Richard Graham, the Tory MP for Gloucester, said it was likely that “the strains and stresses” of top ministerial posts “lead to moments of impatience”.
A Cabinet minister has told The Daily Telegraph that “Raab has got to go” and they had “heard too much” from civil servants claiming “that he’s an absolute s---”. However, other senior Tory MPS have defended him, with Jacob Reesmogg, the former business secretary, warning against being “too ‘snowflakey’” about the allegations.
Mr Raab has denied the claims, insisting he has “behaved professionally throughout”. He has pledged to “comply and respect the outcome of any investigation”.