News / Politics

Labor demands transparency over Priti Patel

Saturday, 11 July 2020 5:51 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 11 July 2020 5:51 PM ]

Priti Patel often tries to project an over-confident and pugilistic persona

The opposition Labor party is calling for immediate transparency into the results of the inquiry into Home Secretary, Priti Patel’s professional conduct following multiple allegations of bullying and inappropriate behavior.

The allegations were so intense that the then top civil servant in the Home Office, Sir Phillip Rutnam, quit his post in dramatic fashion on live television.

Top Home Office civil servant quits in a fit of emotion

The effective boss of the Home Office has quit in dramatic fashion and in the process made the position of the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, more precarious than ever.

Rutnam had accused Patel of bullying and inappropriate behavior including “shouting and swearing, belittling people, making unreasonable and repeated demands”.

Following complaints by Rutnam, and several other Home Office officials, the government agreed in March to hold an inquiry into allegations of bullying and inappropriate behavior by Patel.

Four months later and the findings of that promised inquiry have yet to be released to the public.

The government’s lack of transparency has prompted the shadow home secretary, Nick Thomas-Symonds, to write to the cabinet office minister, Michael Gove, to complain about the “unacceptable” delay.

Labor’s shadow cabinet office minister, Rachel Reeves, is also a co-signatory of the letter to Gove.

In their letter, the two Labor party officials write that the delay: “creates the clear sense that the government is acting in the interests of a Conservative Party elite, rather than the national interest”.

"This report must now be published immediately for it to be properly considered before [parliamentary] recess begins, and we look forward to your [Gove’s] confirmation of this", the Labor officials added.

Home secretary Patel’s behavior has reportedly been so divisive and alienating that even the bosses of the British Security Service (MI5) have found it hard to work with her and reportedly describe her as "bullying" and "over-ambitious".