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UK Deputy PM Resigns Over Bullying Report

Published

3 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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Australian Govt Official Declares ‘Red Wednesday’ Over Attack On Kwara Church

Published

3 hours ago

November 19, 2025

Editor

Chairman of the Australian Committee for NATO enlargement, Gunther Fehlinger-Jahn, has declared a ‘Red Wednesday’ as part of a global awareness campaign against alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

Gunther made this known in a post on X while reacting to the recent attack on Christ Apostolic Church, CAC, in Kwara State.

Recall that terrorists on Tuesday invaded the church located in Eruku town, Ekiti Local Government Area of the state, and opened fire on worshipers.

According to reports, the resident pastor and some persons were killed while majority of the worshipers were taken away to unknown destinations.

Reacting, Gunther in his X post said the incessant attacks on Nigerian Christians “is unacceptable”.

He wrote, “I got this video sent of an Islamist attack on a church in Nigeria. Today is #RedWednesday the global awareness day against prosecution of Christians.”

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Pope Decries Lack Of Political Will On Climate Change

Published

1 day ago

November 18, 2025

Editor

Pope Leo XIV on Monday urged “concrete actions” on climate change and complained that some leaders lacked the will to act, as he addressed religious dignitaries on the sidelines of the COP30 summit.

The Vatican released the American pope’s address to churches of the southern hemisphere assembled on the sidelines of the UN climate talks in Belem, Brazil, in which he called the Amazon region “a living symbol of creation with an urgent need for care”.

“Creation is crying out in floods, droughts, storms and relentless heat,” the pope said.

“One in three people live in great vulnerability because of these climate changes. To them, climate change is not a distant threat, and to ignore these people is to deny our shared humanity,” he added.

“What is failing is the political will of some.”

The UN climate negotiations enter their final stretch this week, with nations split on key issues as government ministers began arriving Monday to take over negotiations.

“There is still time to keep the rise in global temperature below 1.5C, but the window is closing,” warned Leo, who called for “concrete actions” while championing the landmark Paris Agreement.

– Pope defends Paris Agreement –

The historic 2015 accord, from which US President Donald Trump has said he will withdraw the United States for the second time, aims to keep temperature rises “well below” 2C compared to pre-industrial levels and, if possible, to 1.5C.

The Paris Agreement was the “strongest tool for protecting people and the planet”, Leo said, decrying a lack of effort by some leaders, whom he did not name.

“True leadership means service and support on a scale that will truly make a difference,” he said, urging firmer climate action to bring about “stronger and fairer economic systems”.

“Let us send a clear global signal together: nations standing in unwavering solidarity behind the Paris Agreement and climate cooperation,” he said.

Since being made pope in May, the Chicago-born pontiff — who spent about 20 years as a missionary in Peru — has urged more pressure on governments to stop climate change.

Last month, during a climate conference near Rome, he called for an “ecological conversion” to help vulnerable communities.

October marked the 10-year anniversary of the late Pope Francis’s landmark climate manifesto “Laudato Si”, which appealed for action on human-caused global warming.

COP30, without the presence of the US government, is scheduled to end in five days, but groups of countries still disagree on many issues, including climate ambition, unilateral trade measures, and finance.

Some countries also want a roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels.

UN climate chief Simon Stiell welcomed what he called Pope Leo’s “strong message”.

“His words urge us to continue to choose hope and action,” he said.

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Genocide: U.S. Lawmaker Alleges Tinubu Lying, Protecting Own Interest

Published

2 days ago

November 18, 2025

Editor

Riley Moore

…Congress to debate ‘Christian Persecution’ in Nigeria on Thursday

United States (U.S.) lawmaker, Riley Moore, has dismissed President Bola Tinubu’s denial of the targeted killing of Christians as “completely false”.

Moore said Tinubu’s denial was to “protect his interests,” adding that Nigeria’s political leaders were “complicit” in the killing of Christians.

In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Moore noted Tinubu’s statement, claiming that the “characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality” as incorrect.

Meanwhile, the Congress will, on Thursday, debate the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

This was as International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule (Intersociety) raised fresh claims 99 Christians were, again, killed in Nigeria in 14 days.

“Unfortunately, that is completely false. There are states in Nigeria that have blasphemy laws. People are facing the death penalty for blasphemy against Islam,” the U.S. lawmaker said. “I know President Tinubu is in a difficult position, and trying to protect his interests there in the country. But they are complicit in this to some degree or another for a statement like this.”

Moore cited the case of an Adamawa Christian farmer, Sunday Jackson, who was sentenced to death for defending himself against a killer herdsman.

“There is serious persecution in Nigeria,” Moore said.
CONGRESS is set to convene a hearing on Thursday to examine allegations of widespread persecution of Christians in Nigeria, following President Donald Trump’s recent decision to redesignate the country as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).

The session will be led by Congressman Chris Smith, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, and a vocal advocate for stronger U.S. action on reported religious violence in Nigeria.

Smith previously introduced a congressional resolution naming the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore as responsible actors in several attacks. The resolution recommends visa bans and asset freezes against members of the groups.

It also called on White House to classify “Fulani-Ethnic Militias” operating in states such as Benue and Plateau under the Entities of Particular Concern (EPC) framework established by the International Religious Freedom Act.

Witnesses scheduled to testify include Jonathan Pratt, senior bureau official at the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, and Jacob McGee, deputy assistant secretary at the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour.

A second panel is expected to feature Nina Shea, senior fellow and director at the Centre for Religious Freedom; Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of the Makurdi Catholic Diocese; and Oge Onubogu, director and senior fellow for the Africa Programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
INTERSOCIETY alleged in a statement yesterday that 99 Christians were killed within the last 14 days.

It stated that the killing occurred between October 28 and November 11, adding that 114 others were kidnapped by the group that carried out the action, called Jihadist militants.

The report was signed by the Head, Intersociety, Emeka Umeagbalasi, and two human rights lawyers, Joy Igboeli and Ogochukwu Obi.