The British government has appointed Oliver Dowden as Deputy Prime Minister to replace Dominic Raab, who resigned earlier after a report said he routinely intimidated colleagues.

As Deputy Prime Minister, Raab had no formal powers, but replaced Prime Minister Rishi Sunak if he was absent from Parliament or otherwise unable to fulfill his duties.

The loss of a third senior official due to personal conduct in the past six months will hurt Mr Sunak’s efforts to revive the Conservative Party and cause great embarrassment as he came to Downing Street in October promising a morally upright government.

Raab resigned in a letter to the prime minister before the report’s findings were published, and his departure came as a blow to Sunak just two weeks before local council elections in England.

“I asked for an investigation and promised to resign if bullying (on my part) was found to have taken place. I consider it important to keep my word,” Raab stressed in his letter.

In a response letter, Sunak said he accepted Raab’s resignation with deep regret, but stressed that it was important that ministers be held to the highest standards.

A five-month investigation into Raab’s conduct unearthed testimony from several government officials about complaints of intimidation at three different ministries.

Raab requested an investigation in November after official complaints about his behavior from government officials. He said he felt “obliged” to accept the findings of the investigation, but also strongly defended his behavior.

According to him, the investigation concluded that in 4.5 years he never used profanity, did not raise his voice and did not physically intimidate anyone, and that all but two complaints against him were dismissed, which he has so far calls false.

Raab apologized for any distress or insult he may have unintentionally caused, but said the decision to set the bar so low for bullying “sets a dangerous precedent”.

According to Reuters

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