Opposition parties call for Dominic Raab to donate £16,000 severance payout to anti-bullying charities

Opposition parties have called for Dominic Raab to donate the £16,000 severance payment for resigning from government to an anti-bullying charity. 

The former deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary has announced he will resign following an investigation into bullying allegations made against him by a number of civil servants. Two of the eight bullying complaints were proven, with the report saying that he was persistently aggressive in work meetings and acted in a intimidating manner.

Raab, who shared his resignation statement on Twitter earlier today (21 April) criticised the investigation’s findings and said it would “set a dangerous precedent for the conduct of good government”.

The Liberal Democrats, who called for Raab to donate his payout, have also said he should resign as an MP. While former Labour Shadow Cabinet minister Richard Burgon told NationalWorld that "donating his severance payment to anti-bullying charities is the least he can do".

Raab to get £16K severance payout

Ministers who leave government are automatically entitled to a severance payment worth a quarter of their ministerial salary. As a senior cabinet minister, Raab is entitled to the highest level of payout, worth more than £16,000. 

NationalWorld has previously reported on the vast potential cost of ministerial upheaval throughout the period where ministers resigned to force Boris Johnson out, and the short-lived premiership of Liz Truss, with some ministers entitled to payouts equal to more than they had earned in salary during their time in post. 

Liberal Democrat Chief Whip, Wendy Chamberlain, said: "Dominic Raab is a bully who has had to resign in disgrace, allowing him to claim a huge pay packet would be an insult to millions of decent people across the country. Raab should do the right thing, resign as an MP and donate this huge payout to anti-bullying charities."

In a statement published on Twitter, Raab claimed that two of eight bullying complaints made against him were proven, by the report from Adam Tolley KC. The Tory grandee said he felt “duty bound” to accept the outcome of the inquiry, but described its findings as “flawed” and said the threshold for what constitutes bullying had been set “so low” that it would have “a chilling effect on those driving change”. 

Raab had been accused of bullying by a number of civil servants from various departments where he had been the secretary of state over a period of several years.  Labour MP Richard Burgon said he doesn’t agree with the severance pay policy “at the best of times” and said it “certainly shouldn’t happen in cases like Dominic Raab’s.

He told NationalWorld: “When Ministers resign they are normally handed a severance payment worth three months of their salary. I don't think that's right at the best of times, especially as they still have their MP's salary. But it certainly shouldn't happen in cases like Dominic Raab's. Donating his severance payment to anti-bullying charities is the least he can do."

While Greens co-leader Adrian Ramsay said: “I welcome Dominic Raab going. No one wants a bully in the workplace. In any other workplace, allegations this numerous and this serious would have led to a suspension and an immediate investigation. Under this government, they led to a seat at the heart of government

“I’m afraid this is another example of the laws and ethics we all live our lives by not applying to this government. We need a new approach to government that sets clear standards and consistently holds people to them. Even now, Dominic Raab could help that process by donating any severance pay to an anti-bullying charity.”

The senior civil servants union the FDA has called for an inquiry into ministerial bullying, following Raab’s resignation. They say that one in six senior civil servants has witnessed misconduct in the last 12 months, across more than 20 government departments, which they say “demonstrates that Raab is not just one bad apple”. 

FDA General Secretary Dave Penman said: “As Dominic Raab’s resignation letter makes clear, he was guilty of bullying civil servants and, therefore, had breached the Ministerial Code. His obviously reluctant tone and dismissal of the complaints says more about his conduct than any findings will. This resignation is not a vindication of the current system, it’s a damning indictment of the inadequacy of a process that relies solely on the Prime Minister of the day to enforce standards.

 “The Prime Minister may have been left with no choice today, but he still has serious questions to answer over what he knew when he appointed Raab as Deputy Prime Minister in October. The sad reality is that if he had appointed him to any other government department, his behaviour would, in all likelihood, still be going unchecked.

“Bullying blights people’s lives and careers. It also gets in the way of government working effectively and efficiently. This investigation must be the seminal moment when the Prime Minister recognises that he has a duty to protect civil servants from the misconduct of ministers, and that the current system is neither fit for purpose nor commands the confidence of the very people it is supposed to protect. A recent FDA survey showed that 70% of senior civil servants had no confidence in the system for dealing with complaints.

 He added: “Given the scale of complaints against Dominic Raab and the evidence we have produced of a wider problem, the Prime Minister must now launch an independent inquiry into ministerial bullying, along the lines of the inquiry conducted by Dame Laura Cox KC commissioned under similar circumstances in Parliament.”