In the weeks before the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic became clear, Priti Patel was the biggest story in Westminster. In March, her most senior Home Office civil servant, Philip Rutnam, resigned and when doing so read out a statement in which he said he had been subject to a ‘vicious and orchestrated campaign’ against him after he challenged the alleged mistreatment of civil servants by Patel.
To deal with the furore that followed, a Cabinet Office inquiry into allegations of bullying by the Home Secretary began. It concluded some time ago yet nothing had been made public until now. That is now changing. The report has found that Patel’s behaviour could be described as ‘bullying’ and that she was in breach of the ministerial code. However, it concludes these actions may have been ‘unintentional’.
However, anyone hoping Johnson will heavily distance himself from his Home Secretary or even expel her from his Cabinet will likely be left disappointed.
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