Labour’s Angela Rayner will wear a sticker to mark anti-bullying week when she takes on Dominic Raab at prime minister’s questions, HuffPost UK has learned.
The Labour deputy leader is standing in for Keir Starmer while Rishi Sunak is away at the G20 summit in Bali.
The PMQs session comes after Raab called for an independent investigation into formal bullying complaints made against him by civil servants in the Foreign Office and Ministry of Justice.
Raab, the deputy prime minister, has been accused of creating a “culture of fear” in the MoJ when he was previously secretary of state.
The Guardian reported that staff upset by his behaviour were offered a “route out” of his department when he was reinstated to the role by Sunak in October.
In a letter to Sunak, Raab said: “When you entered No.10 Downing Street, on 25th October, you rightly stated that ‘this government will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level’.
“I am proud to take this as a personal article of faith.
“I have just been notified that two separate complaints have formally been made against me, in parallel, from my time as foreign secretary and my first tenure as justice secretary, which ended in September of this year.
“I am, therefore, writing to request that you commission an independent investigation into the claims as soon as possible. I will co-operate fully and respect whatever outcome you decide.”
Raab said in his letter that he had “always sought to set high standards” but that he had “never tolerated bullying” and “always sought to reinforce and empower the teams of civil servants working in my respective departments”.
Sunak has previously defended Raab, telling reporters en route to the G20 in Bali: “I don’t recognise that characterisation of Dominic and I’m not aware of any formal complaints about him.
“Of course, there are established procedures for civil servants if they want to bring to light any issues. I’m not aware of any formal complaint about Dominic.”
In response to Raab’s letter, Sunak wrote back that “integrity, professionalism and accountability are core values of this government” and that it was “right that these matters are investigated fully”.
No.10 said on Monday it had not been aware of any formal complaints against Raab and that the PM had “full confidence” in his deputy.