Johnson re-asserts support for Patel

Wednesday 04th March 2020 11:34 EST
 
 

On Wednesday 4th March, Boris Johnson insisted that home secretary was doing an “outstanding job”, even as Labour Party demanded an independent inquiry into whether she had broken the ministerial code.

Such re-affirmation of confidence appears following allegations that Patel had bullied civil servants, including a private secretary, who had to sign off from work with stress. Her “alleged” bullying characteristics have come to light both in office as home secretary and when she was secretary of state for international development between 2016 and 2017. Patel has repeatedly denied all allegations against her. Reports suggest that a former aide to Patel was also allegedly given a £25,000 payout after taking an overdose of prescription medicine following alleged bullying.

Now, Jeremy Corbyn has demanded that the prime minister must make the findings of any investigation public. Pushing for an independent procedure while insisting that the Government cannot be the judge of the cabinet minister’s breach of conduct, he asked,

“Will he now commit to an independent investigation into the home secretary’s conduct led by an external lawyer and commit to a date when its findings will be made public?”

Addressing Prime Minister’s Questions, Johnson told the Commons she was keeping the country safe by increasing the number of police officers on the streets and bringing in a system to “tackle our migration crisis”. He said,

“She is keeping this country safe by putting in record numbers of police officers. She believes in stopping the early release of offenders and she is bringing in a system to tackle our migration crisis with an Australian-style points-based system.

“The home secretary is doing an outstanding job, I have every confidence in her. If there are allegations, of course it’s right they should be properly investigated by the Cabinet Office and that is what is happening.”


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