UK deputy prime minister quits for bullying civil servants

U.K. Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab resigned Friday after an independent investigation found he bullied civil servants.

Raab’s announced his resignation the day after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak received findings into eight formal complaints that he (Raab) he had been abusive toward staff members during a previous stint in that office and while serving as Britain’s foreign secretary and Brexit secretary.

Raab, 49, denied claims he belittled and demeaned his staff and said he “behaved professionally at all times,” but had said he would resign if the bullying complaints were upheld.

The investigation made two findings of bullying against him and dismissed the others, Raab said in his resignation letter. But he called the findings “flawed” and said the inquiry “set a dangerous precedent” by “setting the threshold for bullying so low.”

He said he quit because he was “duty bound” to resign since he had promised to.

The resignation spares Sunak from having to determine the fate of his top deputy.

Sunak received the investigation report Thursday morning and was carefully considering the findings but didn’t immediately make a decision, spokesperson Max Blain said.

The case presented a conundrum for Sunak: fire Raab and open himself to criticism for hiring him in the first place, or keep him in the job and be criticized for failing to follow through on his promise to restore integrity to the Conservative government.