Civil servants union says Raab should be suspended until bullying probe is over – UK Politics Live | Politics

In her interview with Times Radio this morning, Gillian Keegan, The education secretary was asked about reports that teachers are paid so low they need to use food banks. In response, she said it was “not credible” to think teachers were constantly relying on them. she says:

It’s unbelievable that people are using them every day, every week, every week.

The Trussell trust itself says only 15% of people need more than three food stamps a year, and they’re usually the ones who get flagged later…

So, I think food banks exist for a reason, but I guess, they’re not widely used by professionals.

One person who might not welcome the sacking of Nadhim Zahawi on Sunday might be Justice Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab. Raab was the subject of an investigation into allegations that he bullied officials who worked for him, and with Zahavi gone, reporters are now paying more attention to Raab’s story.

Their findings feature prominently in today’s newspapers.

• My colleagues at the Guardian, Pippa Crerar and Jamie Grierson, have revealed that all three Whitehall officials who worked with Raab during his cabinet duties are now under official investigation into his alleged bullying behaviour.

The civil servant noted that Raab had “problems” in his previous ministry before Sunak decided to bring him back into government. The Downing Street source insisted the prime minister had not been “directly informed” and that officials had never advised Raab not to be appointed.

Civil servants claim they had a nervous breakdown and wanted to kill themselves Dominic Raaballegedly bullying.

Staff insisted working with the Tories felt like being in a “controlling and abusive relationship”.

Witnesses also said the deputy prime minister would switch his anger on and off depending on whether civil servants or ministers were in the room.

Raab has repeatedly denied bullying employees and insisted he “acted professionally at all times”.

But this morning his situation became more precarious Dave PenmanThe head of the FDA, a union representing senior civil servants, told the Today program that Raab should be suspended from his ministerial position until an investigation into his conduct is concluded. Penman said:

Dominic Raab is now facing investigations surrounding eight separate complaints involving, as we understand it, dozens of civil servants in three separate government departments over a four-year period.

If that was any other employee, if that was the permanent secretary of the civil service, they would likely have been suspended pending the investigation.

This is not meant to prejudge the investigation. That said, if there are serious allegations of bullying and widespread allegations like this one, one of the considerations is how do you protect employees from such behavior? While determining, you will generally suspend someone given the seriousness and scope of the allegations.

UK government plays down reports London and Brussels have reached tariff deal that could end NI deal dispute

Lisa O’Carroll

Reports that Britain and the European Union had reached a partial deal to end their dispute over Northern Ireland’s withdrawal arrangements were played down in London and Brussels.

According to The Times, the two sides have reportedly reached an agreement that will remove customs checks on goods entering the region from the UK.

However, a source at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said claims that a deal had been reached did not reflect the true state of the current negotiations.

The FCDO suggested the paper’s report was speculative, saying officials were in “intensive scoping talks” with Brussels and refusing to preempt the discussions.

The Times reported that the customs agreement was largely based on the government’s proposals for a red and green channel system – the green channel for British goods stranded in the region and the red channel for inspection and control of products destined for the region. The Republic of Ireland and the rest of the European Union.

The EU version of the scheme – involving “fast” lanes, rather than “green” lanes – requires customs paperwork for all shipments but minimal physical inspection of trucks.

A separate agreement will be negotiated for the export of meat and live animals to Northern Ireland, with Britain agreeing to maintain EU veterinary standards for shipments to the province.

The Times also reported, citing government sources, that Brussels had conceded to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), a sticking point for the European Research Group, a group of hardline Conservative MPs who backed Brexit and the Democratic Unionist Party.

Various vague proposals have been put forward by the UK, including setting up an arbitration panel as a first port of call to advise the European Court of Justice.

Sources in Brussels have been insisting that disputes over EU law are not resolved in lower national courts and can only be decided by the European Court of Justice, which gives judges across Europe the final interpretation of EU law.

European Commission declined to comment

in an interview this morning Gillian KeeganThe education minister also admitted that she had only recently realized that individual teachers did not have to say in advance whether they would go on strike. “To the surprise of some of us, this is actually the law,” she told Time Radio.

She also hinted that she wanted to change that. she says:

I do write to everyone, urging them to be constructive and get their head around it, and I’m sure many teachers do.

There was discussion around minimum levels of service, minimum levels of safety in hospitals around the railway – education was also part of the bill.

We want it not to be used, we want to make sure we continue to have constructive discussions and relationships, but those things will always be under scrutiny.

‘Most’ schools in England and Wales to remain open today despite strikes Gillian Keegan, the education minister, claimed.My colleagues Alyssa Adu There is a story here.

Good morning. Rishi Sunak was born in 1980, which means he wasn’t in the 1970s when two party governments were largely overthrown due to their inability to prevent labor disputes, but he would have to know enough about British politics to realize what is currently What is happening may make a Conservative Party recovery almost impossible.

After Christmas, Sunak launched a series of talks between ministers and unions in hopes of resolving the dispute, but as we reported in our evening report on today’s mass strike day on ‘Strike Wednesday’, the process has stagnated.

Sunak has also been hoping that as the public inconvenience of the strikes grows, people may turn to Labor, with some of the striking unions affiliated with it (though not the NEA, which could cause more disruption today ). But opinion polls show that there is no overwhelming public opposition to the strikes, with some worker groups supporting strike action more than opposing it.

No doubt Sunak will question the issue on PMQ.

My colleagues Geneva Abdul There is a separate live blog covering the strike. is here.

But I will also discuss some political aspects here.

This is the agenda for the day.

morning: Foreign Secretary James Cleverly met his Australian counterpart Penny Wong in London.

11 am: High-profile teachers began marching in London, culminating in a rally in Westminster.

12 o’clock noon: Rishi Sunak faces Keir Starmer at PMQ.

4.30pm (UK time): Boris Johnson speaks at an Atlantic Council event in Washington.

I will try my best to pay attention to offline comments (BTL), but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, be sure to include “Andrew” somewhere in it so I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I post questions and replies above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.

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