...things have to be very bad indeed for a Cabinet Office enquiry to find fault in a minister

[Soph0571]

Link to tweet

2 thoughts of the day. Bullying at work is never justified: it can cause huge misery for those affected and their families. In my experience, things have to be very bad indeed for a Cabinet Office enquiry to find fault in a minister -the system is rigged to conclude the contrary.

Bullying inquiry 'found evidence Priti Patel broke ministerial code'

Boris Johnson, the sole arbiter of the rules, is expected to release a decision on the inquiry within weeks but it is not likely to demand the home secretary’s resignation.

Sources familiar with the inquiry said it had found evidence that civil servants were treated poorly by Patel, as well as compelling evidence of bullying.

Pressure on the prime minister to sack Patel is growing as a result of claims of bullying and harassment from civil servants in three separate government departments.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/nov/19/boris-johnson-expected-to-rule-on-priti-patel-bullying-claims-within-weeks]

In any other era than this any Secretary of State would be made to fall on their swords for this. But here we are in the post truth era and nothing will happen. Nothing. And she will feel empowered to keep bullying, cause none of them are ever held accountable and they really do believe that the rules do not apply to them. Queue the tory toadies flooding the airwaves today after being bullied into defending her bullying...

[T_i_B]

1. I wish I were surprised by this

But truth be told, Patel being an obnoxious dishonest, arrogant, blinkered two faced backstabbing bully is not a surprise.

Neither is Johnson being too weak to actually do anything.

[marble falls]

2. I thought Boris was resigning due residual effects of Covid at the end of October.

[abqtommy]

3. I seem to have already developed a prejudicial understanding of Priti Patel since I've

been reading about her for a long time when I do my daily viewing of The BBC and
Guardian websites. I do find that U.K. politics is a pleasant diversion from U.S. politics

But when politics around the world is laid out to see all I can think to say is "What's wrong
with these people?" and "Why do the rest of us put up with it?"

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. Boris Johnson adviser quits after being overruled on Priti Patel bullying report

A row has broken out after Boris Johnson’s adviser on the ministerial code resigned in the wake of the prime minister standing by the under-fire home secretary, Priti Patel, despite a long-awaited official inquiry finding evidence that she bullied civil servants.

Sir Alex Allan’s findings based on the cabinet office investigation concluded that Patel’s approach “amounted to behaviour that can be described as bullying” – noting instances of shouting and swearing – and that she had breached the ministerial code, although her actions may have been “unintentional”.

But Johnson, who is the sole arbiter of the rules, set himself on a collision course with his adviser’s conclusion by deciding that the ministerial code had not been breached, prompting Allan’s resignation on Friday. Patel herself issued an apology, saying: “I am sorry that my behaviour in the past has upset people. It has never been my intention to cause upset to anyone.”
...
“He is reassured that the home secretary is sorry for inadvertently upsetting those with whom she was working. He is also reassured that relationships, practices and culture in the Home Office are much improved. As the arbiter of the code, having considered Sir Alex’s advice and weighing up all the factors, the prime minister’s judgement is that the ministerial code was not breached.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/nov/20/priti-patel-boris-johnson-bullying-report-findings

Pritti Patel doesn't even try to fake courtesy or civility. It's a non-apology, with the ridiculous "inadvertently" and "unintentional" being thrown around. And saying people were "upset" makes it sound like their reaction was wrong.

Gripper!!! There's a blast from the past.

[Denzil_DC]

5. BBC news just reported that Johnson says he has "full confidence" in Patel.

So, on past form, it's just a matter of time before she goes ...

[T_i_B]

7. Tory MP's have been trying to "form a square" around Patel

And have been taking to social media and the airwaves to issue defenses of Patel that are all essentially "This person is not a bully because I, a person who they consider an equal and would be able to demand consequences if they attempted to bully me, have not been bullied by them." As with the backbench Tory attempts to oppose free school meals, they are not covering themselves in glory.

Truth is, we've all come across people people like Patel who are sycophantic with people at their level or above on the greasy pole but abusive to those they consider beneath them on the career ladder. It's not an endearing trait to put it mildly.

[Denzil_DC]

8. The main official defence I've seen is that yes, she's been a bully,

but she's too thick to know any better.

That at least does have the smell of truth, which is rare enough from government nowadays to deserve applause.

[T_i_B]

9. My local MP is just fibbing about the report into Patel's bullying

And Miriam Cates might just be too thick to know any better herself.

https://leftfootforward.org/2020/11/tory-mp-miriam-cates-falsely-claims-report-did-not-find-priti-patel-bullied-staff/

The Conservative MP for Penistone and Stocksbrige has wrongly claimed that a civil servant’s report did not find that Home Secretary Priti Patel had bullied staff.

Miriam Cates told the BBC: “We need to be very clear that the report has not found bullying behaviour. I think it says that she didn’t always treat civil servants with the considerstion she should have done which may have led some of them to have felt they had been bulled – but there’s certainly no evidence of intentional bullying.”

In fact, Sir Alexander Allan’s report said: “[The civil service] defines bullying as intimidating or insulting behaviour that makes an individual feel uncomfortable, frightened, less respected or put down. Instances of the behaviour reported to the Cabinet Office would meet such a definition.” The report found Patel had shouted and swore at staff.

Allan’s report went on to say that Patel had breached the ministerial code. Despite this finding, Boris Johnson has claimed she did not breach the code and allowed her to continue in her job. Shortly after this decision, Sir Alexander Allan resigned. When questioned about this, Cate said that she didn’t know why Allan resigned and that Boris Johnson had taken into account Allan’s report.

[Denzil_DC]

10. Somebody should ask Cates to comment on this:

Priti Patel staff member ‘received payout after attempting suicide’ following bullying claims

Woman was shouted at and dismissed from private office role because Ms Patel 'doesn’t like your face', according to legal correspondence

A civil servant allegedly attempted to kill herself after being shouted at by Priti Patel and later received a £25,000 payout from the government on a no liability basis, it has been claimed.

The woman was shouted at, told to get lost and dismissed from her job in the minister’s private office because Ms Patel “doesn’t like your face”, according to legal correspondence seen by the BBC.

The incident allegedly took place in October 2015, when the home secretary – now embroiled in fresh bullying allegations which she has denied – was employment minister, it was reported.

The woman took an overdose of prescription medicines and had to be taken home by her husband, where she attempted to kill herself, the legal correspondence said.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/priti-patel-bully-staff-suicide-conservative-boris-johnson-a9370731.html

[T_i_B]

11. To be honest...

...I would expect Cates to crassly blame the victim here.

At best Cates is out of her depth as a member of parliament, and gets by with blind loyalty to Johnson & Co. She's often wheeled out on local TV news to defend the indefensible but is well known for her refusal to engage with constituents.

Miriam Cates is without a doubt the worst constituency MP I've ever had. And I say that as somebody who's been round the houses a bit and lived in a few places. I've had other constituency MP's such as Lee Rowley and John Whittingdale who have been more extreme but none who can match Cates for sheer negligence and lack of integrity.

[abqtommy]

6. My update after reading todays Guardian Politcal News*:

Priti Patel, the Foreign Secretary, has apologized for her behaviour but does not resign.

* https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/nov/20/priti-patel-apologises-for-behaviour-in-the-past-but-keeps-job

My response is that I think a Foreign Secretary that apologizes but doesn't resign might
be a good thing, but a Foreign Secretary that doesn't have to apologize or consider resignation is better!