Dominic Raab says he was driven out of office by ‘activist civil servants’ and public will ‘pay the price’

DOMINIC Raab yesterday said he had been driven from office by “activist, passive-aggressive civil servants” — and warned the public will “pay the price”.

The Deputy PM quit, hitting out at Whitehall mandarins for a sinister “kafkaesque” campaign against him.

Mr Raab said his resignation would open the floodgates to “spurious complaints” from civil servants out to thwart Brexit and who feel their bosses are too tough.

On a day of high drama in Westminster:

• A FIVE-month probe concluded the top Tory bullied staff by being “intimidating” and “aggressive” — but dismissed a raft of complaints against him;
• LIVID Tory MPs warned of an onslaught of complaints coming next as civil servants take aim at other ministers;
• A GOVERNMENT insider revealed rapists are free to roam and prisons are “festering, filthy factories of crime” thanks to poor leadership in the Ministry of Justice;
• RISHI Sunak said his close ally was “right” to quit — but then hinted he would stay on the backbenches for now.

The PM admitted the whole sorry saga could have been­ ­handled far better, and will now seek to improve the process.

Former Justice Secretary Mr Raab said he had been targeted by “unionised officials”.

Just hours after he had vowed to fight on, he fell on his sword, taking a final swipe at civil servants for running a “trial by media”.

Mr Raab told the BBC there was a “very small minority of very activist civil servants, with a passive aggressive culture of the Civil Service, who don’t like some of the reforms — whether it’s Brexit, whether it’s parole reform, whether it’s human rights reform — effectively trying to block government.”

He added: “That’s not on. That’s not democratic.”

Top lawyer Adam Tolley’s probe found Mr Raab had been “intimidating” to civil servants — but had not shouted, sworn or thrown anything.

Nor had he called accusers “snowflakes”, as had been reported.

He was found to have blasted some work as “woeful” and “useless” and threatened one person with disciplinary action.

He was found guilty of “abuse of power” during Brexit talks after he reprimanded a top negotiator for over-stepping their position.

Just two of at least six formal complaints — some more than four years old — were upheld.

Three people who complained to the inquiry were found not to have been in a single meeting with him.

Yesterday, he refused to apologise for his tough, direct approach to whipping Whitehall into shape.

He asked: “If ministers can’t ask direct questions — without shouting, swearing or losing your temper — if we can’t probe, if we can’t scrutinise, how do we deliver for the British people?”

His resignation letter said the inquiry findings were “flawed” and risked government being paralysed with dubious complaints.

He added: “This precedent sets the playbook for a small number of officials to target ministers, who negotiate robustly on behalf of the country, pursue bold reforms and persevere in holding civil ­servants to account.

“If that is now the threshold for bullying in government, it is the people of this country who will pay the price.”

Mr Raab said he had been questioned by Mr Tolley for 17 hours.

The probe found he did not intend to bully officials but said he had been “abrasive”.

The resignation sparked fury among Tory MPs.

Joy Morrissey raged: “Sadly, we now live in a country where the definition of bullying includes ­telling someone to do their job — where the slightest upset or annoyance is indulged with endless reports and inquiries.”

Tim Smith, a former Australian MP who worked alongside Mr Raab, told GB News: “This process it’s not just a kangaroo court, it’s an insult to kangaroos. And I say that as an Australian.

“What is the message this now sends to all Cabinet ministers, all future Cabinet ministers?

“Well, it means don’t be too harsh on a public servant, on a civil servant, because they might leak against you in the media and you might lose your job. This is really bad for democracy.”

I had not once, in four and a half years, sworn or shouted at anyone, let alone thrown anything.

Dominic Raab

But civil servants claimed Mr Raab was “gaslighting in his last gasps”.

One MoJ official said: “This isn’t about him staying or going, just how people are treated when they’ve shown bravery to stand up to a powerful person.”

Meanwhile, a whistleblower who received a deserved rollicking from Mr Raab said it was the cosseted Whitehall departments who were in desperate need of a shake-up.

The official told The Sun: “The Ministry of Justice is a failing department where senior staff enjoy comfortable salaries and the best views in London while around them the justice system falls to bits.

“Rapists are left at liberty, people are stuck in abusive marriages because they can’t get a court date for their divorce and prisons are festering, filthy factories of crime.

“Some of this is down to money. But a lot is bad management.”