An investigation into United Kingdom Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab expanded after a third formal complaint of bullying against him.
A spokesperson for 10 Downing Street, the office of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, told reporters at a briefing that Sunak has asked an investigator to add a third formal complaint against Raab pertaining to his conduct at the Department for Exiting the European Union, which oversaw the U.K.’s process of leaving the EU before it was dissolved in 2020.
The Guardian reported that officials received the complaint on Wednesday but said Sunak maintains confidence in Raab. The previous two complaints are related to his time as foreign secretary and justice secretary.
BBC reported that Raab has denied all allegations of bullying, saying he “behaved professionally at all times” and looks forward to facing the complaints “transparently rather than dealing with anonymous comments in the media.”
Raab asked Sunak to launch the investigation into his behavior last week, and the lawyer appointed to investigate is responsible for establishing the facts and will report to Sunak.
Sunak will make the final decision on if Raab’s behavior violated code, according to the BBC.
Raab served in the Cabinet of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson before he was fired by Liz Truss, who served as prime minister for about a month and a half before she resigned last month. Raab was reappointed justice secretary and deputy prime minister in Sunak’s Cabinet and has been a close ally of the current prime minister.
BBC reported that multiple private secretaries working in the private offices of government ministers have submitted complaints formally to U.K. government departments or are preparing complaints to be submitted.