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UK Deputy PM Resigns Over Bullying Report

Published

1 year 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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Meet 17-year-old Nigerian Who Won $3.5m Worth Of Scholarships From Harvard, 13 Other Foreign Universities

Published

7 hours ago

April 24, 2024

Editor

A 17-year-old Nigerian boy, Oluwafemi Ositade, has secured full scholarships to multiple Ivy League universities in the United States, Canada and Qatar.

The teenager, a member of the Class of 2023 of The Ambassadors College, Ota, won scholarships over $3.5 million.

Ositade’s astounding success stems from his exceptional performance in the SAT where he achieved a perfect score in Maths (800/800) and a near-perfect score of 760 out of 800 in reading and writing and his CGPA of 4.04/4.0 from college.

Nigerian boy Femi Ositade wins $3.5 million worth of scholarships from Harvard and 13 foreign universities

Ositade received 14 scholarships from renowned institutions nine of which are full ride scholarships (covering tuition, accommodation, allowance and all other student’s expenses).

The universities that have given scholarship offers to Ositade are Harvard University, Brown University, Duke University, University of Toronto Lester B Pearson Scholarship, Wesleyan University, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, University of Miami, Howard University, Stetson University, Fisk University, University of Toronto, Mississauga Campus, University of Toronto St. George Campus, University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus and Drexel University.

In the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), he got a score of 358, and was ranked as the second best in Nigeria for the year 2023.

Also, in the 2023 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), Ositade got eight A’s and one B2.

He wants to pursue a degree in Computational Physics, due to his passion for Quantum Computing and Mathematics.

Headline

Drama As Women Fight Dirty, Breasts Fall Out During Spring Break Outing In US [PHOTOS/VIDEO]

Published

8 hours ago

April 23, 2024

Editor

Shocking videos captured during Spring Break shows topless women fighting on a popular US beach.

The Orange Crush is a college spring break party on Tybee Island in Savannah, Georgia.

The party has been hosted annually in April for almost 30 years since Savannah State University opened.

This year’s event was chaotic. Videos have been shared on social media showing the carnage unfolding.

One video showed several bikini-clad women fighting on the beach’s boardwalk. They were filmed punching and scratching each other so violently that some of their tops flew off.

During the two-and-half minutes of chaotic footage, several women experienced their tops being forcibly lowered or displaced.

Some stopped fighting momentarily to adjust their clothing, while one individual, clad in a green swimsuit, persisted in the altercation even after her breasts were exposed.

Watch videos from the scene below.

No Peace at Savannah’s Orange Crush as Women Brawl Breakout Over The Weekend At Spring Break Event pic.twitter.com/cmfIZS7KQC
— SHO’NUFF (@IAMSHO_NUFF) April 22, 2024

Headline

Video Of Girl Being Bullied, Slapped At Lead British School Sparks Outrage Online [PHOTOS/VIDEO]

Published

9 hours ago

April 23, 2024

Editor

Videos of female students bullying a lone female student at Lead British School, Abuja, has sparked outrage online.

In videos shared online, female students, dressed in school uniform, are seen slapping one female student identified as Namtira.

“What’s the boy’s name?” they asked as they confronted her and slapped her across both cheeks.

Heartbreaking video shows girl being bullied and slapped by other students at Lead British School (videos)

Another video shows one of the bullies, identified as Maryam, asking, “Who broke my heart?” repeatedly as she slapped Namtira.

She then warned “don’t touch my hand” as Namtira tried to protect herself from the slaps.

Afterwards, Namtira stopped trying to prevent the slaps and calmly took them.

Students in the background are heard claiming Namtira “snatched” someone as they confronted her.

Namtira Bwala, said to be the daughter of author Daniel Bwala, did not retaliate as they hit her.

Heartbreaking video shows girl being bullied and slapped by other students at Lead British School (videos)

The video has sparked outrage and led to the hashtag #JusticeForNamtira.

This video is very triggering and painful to watch.
Apparently the bullied student at Lead British School Abuja is Namtira Bwala not Maryam.#JusticeForNamtira #LeadBritishSchool pic.twitter.com/RD63uTS3kz
— IHUOMA (@officialIhuoma) April 23, 2024