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UK Deputy PM Resigns Over Bullying Report

Published

2 years ago

April 22, 2023

UK Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab announced his resignation on Friday after bullying claims against him were upheld in a report, a fresh political shock for Britain’s Conservatives.

Raab’s resignation gives Prime Minister Rishi Sunak a headache some two weeks before local elections at which the Conservatives are expected to lose seats.

He is also battling to claw back a chasm of lost ground to the main opposition Labour Party before a general election next year.

Raab, who stood in for former prime minister Boris Johnson as he battled Covid in 2020, had promised to quit if any claims against him were upheld.

But even though he was cleared of most of the allegations, he blasted the conclusions of a lawyer-led inquiry.

“Whilst I feel duty-bound to accept the outcome of the inquiry, it dismissed all but two of the claims levelled against me,” he wrote in a resignation letter.

“I also believe that its two adverse findings are flawed and set a dangerous precedent for the conduct of good government.”

The bar for bullying was set so low, he said, that “it will encourage spurious complaints against ministers and have a chilling effect on those driving change”.

Raab also resigned from his post as justice secretary, where he has had to battle a backlog in criminal cases caused by years of under-funding and disruptions caused by the pandemic.

He previously served as Brexit minister and foreign secretary but was moved from that post after being criticised for failing to return from holiday as Afghanistan fell to the Taliban.

Sunak, who succeeded the short-lived Liz Truss in October last year, vowed to restore “integrity, professionalism and accountability” in government after Johnson’s rollercoaster tenure.

He previously sacked Nadhim Zahawi as Conservative party chairman over his tax affairs.

Gavin Williamson, a former defence secretary who kept a tarantula on his desk while in charge of party discipline in parliament, quit over expletive-laden messages.

Former lawyer Raab, a karate black belt, has denied bullying civil servants working for him and in his letter rejected allegations of an overbearing manner with colleagues.

He insisted in his letter that ministers “must be able to exercise direct oversight with respect to senior officials over critical negotiations conducted on behalf of the British people”.

Not to do so, he said, would mean the loss of “the democratic and constitutional principle of ministerial responsibility”.

He also maintained ministers “must be able to give direct critical feedback on briefings and submissions to senior officials in order to set the standards and drive the reform the public expect of us”.

“Of course, this must be done within reasonable bounds,” he went on.

Sunak appointed senior employment lawyer Adam Tolley to look into the claims in November and he submitted his report to Sunak on eight allegations on Thursday.

The report has yet to be published.

But Raab said Tolley “concluded that I had not once, in four and a half years, sworn or shouted at anyone let alone thrown anything or otherwise physically intimated anyone, nor intentionally sought to belittle anyone”.

“I am genuinely sorry for any unintended stress or offence that any officials felt, as a result of the pace, standards and challenge that I brought to the Ministry of Justice,” he added.

“That is, however, what the public expects of ministers working on their behalf.”

Related Topics:Dominic Raab resign UK PM resign

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S’Africa Offers US New Trade Deal To Avoid 30% Tariff

Published

10 hours ago

August 12, 2025

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South Africa will offer a “generous” new trade deal to the United States to avoid 30 percent tariffs, ministers said Tuesday.

Washington on Friday slapped the huge tariff on some South African exports, the highest in sub-Saharan Africa, despite efforts by Pretoria to negotiate a better arrangement to avoid massive job losses.

The ministers did not release details of the new offer but said previously discussed measures to increase imports of US poultry, blueberries, and pork had been finalised.

“When the document is eventually made public, I think you would see it as a very broad, generous and ambitious offer to the United States on trade,” Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen said at a press briefing.

Officials have said the 30 per cent tariff could cost the economy around 30,000 jobs.

“Our goal is to demonstrate that South African exports do not pose a threat to US industries and that our trade relationship is, in fact, complementary,” Trade Minister Parks Tau said.

The United States is South Africa’s third-largest trading partner after the European Union and China.

However, South African exports account for only 0.25 per cent of total US imports and are “therefore not a threat to US production”, Tau said.

Steenhuisen said US diplomats raised issues related to South African domestic policies, which was a “surprise given the fact we thought we were in a trade negotiation”.

The two nations are at odds over a range of policies.

US President Donald Trump has criticised land and employment laws meant to redress racial inequalities that linger 30 years after the end of apartheid.

“Things like expropriation without compensation, things like some of the race laws in the country, are issues that they regard as barriers now to doing trade with South Africa,” he told AFP on the sidelines of the briefing.

“I think we’re seeing some form of a new era now where trade and tariffs are being used to deal with other issues, outside of what would generally be trade concerns,” Steenhuisen said.

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Over 600 Pilgrims Hospitalised After Chlorine Gas Leaked In Iraq

Published

2 days ago

August 10, 2025

Editor

More than 600 pilgrims in Iraq were briefly hospitalised with respiratory problems after inhaling chlorine as the result of a leak at a water treatment station, authorities said on Sunday.

The incident took place overnight on the route between the two Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, located in the centre and south of Iraq, respectively.

This year, several million Shiite Muslim pilgrims are expected to make their way to Karbala, which houses the shrines of the revered Imam Hussein and his brother Abbas.

There, they will mark the Arbaeen — the 40-day period of mourning during which Shiites commemorate the death of Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.

In a brief statement, Iraq’s health ministry said, “621 cases of asphyxia have been recorded following a chlorine gas leak in Karbala”.

“All have received the necessary care and left the hospital in good health,” it said.

Security forces charged with protecting pilgrims, meanwhile, said the incident had been caused by “a chlorine leak from a water station on the Karbala-Najaf road”.

Much of Iraq’s infrastructure is in disrepair due to decades of conflict and corruption, with adherence to safety standards often lax.

In July, a massive fire at a shopping mall in the eastern city of Kut killed more than 60 people, many of whom suffocated in the toilets, according to authorities.

AFP

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PHOTOS: US Soldier Searching For Her Nigerian Father

Published

2 days ago

August 10, 2025

Editor

Old photos of Zainab James Parents, Lateef Quadri and Claudine James. Credit: Facebook

A US soldier, Zainab James, has launched a public search for her Nigerian father, identified as Lateef Quadri

The 31-year-old took to Facebook on Sunday to share old photographs of her father and her late mother, Claudine James, including one where Claudine was pregnant with her.

According to Zainab, her mother became pregnant in 1993, and she was born in 1994. Sadly, she lost her mother.

Old photos of Zainab James Parents, Lateef Quadri and Claudine James. Credit: Facebook

In her post, Zainab wrote, “Update: Mother’s name : Claudine James, born Decenber 9, 1969 in Montego Bay, Jamaica (deceased) , Hey All! A real shot in the dark but why not! My mom(pictured) got pregnant with me in 1993 ( I was born 1994) while living in Brooklyn New York. I’m looking for my father or any of his family. All I know is he was Nigerian, possibly named Lateef Quadri or something like that. They didn’t have a long term relationship as he wasn’t present at my birth but he did choose my name. No one in my family met him either. Apparently she was friends with his sister who worked in a jewelry store with her.”