Dominic Raab resigns as Deputy Prime Minister of UK

United Kingdom’s Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab resigned from his post on Friday following investigation into bullying allegations against him. Dominic Raab, also Justice Secretary, had earlier denied multiple complaints claiming he was overly demanding, belittled and demeaned his staff.

Raab had said he “behaved professionally at all times”. However, he had said that he would resign if the bullying complaints were upheld. UK PM Rishi Sunak was reviewing a long-awaited report he received on Thursday on whether complaints against Raab were true. 

49-year-old Raab was first elected to the UK Parliament in 2010. He has served in senior government posts including foreign secretary and justice secretary. He was appointed deputy PM under former PM Boris Johnson. During Covid-19 when Johnson was hospitalised with the infection in April 2020, Raab briefly took charge of the UK government.

The Raab bullying row is the latest ethics headache for Sunak. The UK PM has vowed to restore order and integrity to government after three volatile years under Johnson and Liz Truss. However, he has been unable to shake off opposition pressure at the Conservative government.

Just this week, it was announced that Sunak would face an investigation by a parliamentary watchdog over his disclosure of wife Akshata Murthy's interest in a company which stands to benefit from the big boost to free child care earmarked in his administration's budget.