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Boris Johnson has been charged with double standards after writing to ministers and senior public officials saying “there is no room for harassment” in the wake of a damning investigation into Home Secretary Priti Patel.
Prime Minister and Cabinet Secretary Simon Case wrote a joint email on Monday calling for relationships of “mutual trust and respect between politicians and their officials.”
On Friday, Johnson broke the precedent and refused to fire Patel after an investigation found he had violated the ministerial code following allegations of intimidation in three government departments.
Sir Alex Allan, the prime minister’s adviser on ministerial rules, resigned after Johnson contradicted his report by vigorously defending the home secretary and keeping her in her role.
Dave Penman, the director of the FDA’s union representing top public officials, said the prime minister’s last words would do little to reassure public officials. “In August 2019 it established, in precise terms in the prologue to the ministerial code, that ‘there must be no intimidation or harassment,'” Penman said.
“In the first test of his commitment to these words, he has transparently chosen partisan political interest over the interests of the victims of the Interior Secretary’s behavior, as well as the broader standards that should be expected of ministers.
“If the prime minister were to take his commitment to these standards seriously, he would introduce an independent and transparent process to deal with these complaints, which was free of the political interference that he has so blatantly displayed with respect to the home secretary.”
In a written ministerial statement, in which he acknowledged that Allan had concluded that Patel’s behavior could “at times” be “described” as bullying in terms of the impact people feel, “Johnson said:” Along with the secretary I have written this morning to all the Ministers and Permanent Secretaries, this letter establishes the fundamental importance of relationships of mutual trust and respect between politicians and their officials.
“This includes keeping internal conversations private, feeling able to speak freely and honestly on matters of state, and talking constructively about things that are not working so that we can fix them together quickly.
“It is clear to me that ministers and permanent secretaries have a particular duty to jointly create across government a culture that is professional, respectful, focused and ambitious for change and has no room for harassment. The cabinet secretary and I are enormously grateful to public officials for the commitment they have shown as we go through these difficult times. “
Johnson added that he had “full confidence” in Patel and that he considered “this matter now closed.”
In a published summary of the long-delayed report, Allan said that Patel’s conduct had “amounted to behavior that can be described as bullying” and highlighted instances of yelling and swearing. He concluded that she had violated the ministerial code, even if it was not intentional.
One of the justifications Johnson used to defend Patel was the element in Allan’s report that said she was not aware of the impact of her behavior because no Home Office official had complained about her.
However, sources have said that Allan tried to interview former senior Interior Ministry official Sir Philip Rutnam, who resigned after confronting Patel, but was blocked by government officials.
Offering what he described as a “full and unreserved apology,” Patel took advantage of Allan’s finding that he had received no comment on the impact of his behavior.
Rutnam, who is suing Patel for wrongful termination under whistle-blowing laws, released a statement Friday saying he was advised not to yell at or insult staff a month after his appointment in 2019, and that he he had said to treat staff with respect “on other occasions.”
