Deputy prime minister Dominic Raab has asked Rishi Sunak to launch a formal investigation into allegations he bullied civil servants.
Raab said he was aware that two formal complaints had been submitted against him during his time as foreign secretary and in his first stint as justice secretary.
Raab has been accused of creating a “culture of fear” in the Ministry of Justice during his previous time in the department.
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 his letter to the prime minister, Raab said he welcomed “the opportunity to address any complaints transparently”.
He wrote: “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 has also been hit by allegations of bullying in the Sun, which reported that on one occasion he angrily hurled tomatoes across a meeting room in dissatisfaction with the briefing he had received.
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 that he did not “recognise” the negative characterisations of his deputy.
“I don’t recognise that characterisation of Dominic and I’m not aware of any formal complaints about him,” he told reporters onboard his plane en route to the G20 summit in Bali.
“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.
It is not known when the formal complaints were submitted.