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LAST UPDATE | 20 Nov 2020
BORIS JOHNSON HAS judged the ministerial code was not breached by Priti Patel amid allegations of bullying despite an inquiry into her conduct finding she had “not consistently met the high standards expected of her”.
The Prime Minister’s adviser on ministerial standards, Sir Alex Allan, resigned in response to Johnson’s decision to keep Patel as Home Secretary.
A government statement said Johnson has “full confidence” in Patel and “considers this matter now closed”.
Patel apologised for upset caused by her behaviour, saying in a statement: “It has never been my intention to cause upset to anyone.”
Speaking this evening, Patel also said she is “absolutely sorry for anyone” that she has upset.
“I’m sorry that my behaviour has upset people, and I’ve never intentionally set out to upset anyone,” she said.
“I work with thousands of brilliant civil servants every single day and we work together, day in day out, to deliver on the agenda of this government.”
Normally ministers are expected to resign if they breach the code.
Sir Alex concluded Patel’s behaviour – which was said to include some occasions of shouting and swearing – met the definition of bullying adopted by the civil service.
In his advice, he said: “The definition of bullying adopted by the Civil Service accepts that legitimate, reasonable and constructive criticism of a worker’s performance will not amount to bullying.
“It 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.”
He said his advice was that Patel has “not consistently met the high standards required by the ministerial code of treating her civil servants with consideration and respect”.
He added: “Her approach on occasions has amounted to behaviour that can be described as bullying in terms of the impact felt by individuals. To that extent her behaviour has been in breach of the ministerial code, even if unintentionally.”
However, he said there was “no evidence that she was aware of the impact of her behaviour, and no feedback was given to her at the time”.
He added: “The high pressure and demands of the role, in the Home Office, coupled with the need for more supportive leadership from top of the department has clearly been a contributory factor.
“In particular, I note the finding of different and more positive behaviour since these issues were raised with her.”
A Cabinet Office investigation was launched in March over allegations that Patel belittled colleagues and clashed with senior officials in three different departments.
It followed the resignation of the Home Office’s permanent secretary Sir Philip Rutnam, who accused Patel of a “vicious and orchestrated briefing campaign” against him and is claiming constructive dismissal at an employment tribunal.
Patel has expressed concern at the “false” claims, and allies have described her as a “demanding” boss but not a bully.
Contains reporting by Stephen McDermott.
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And yet an OCED report said one in four couldn’t afford food! That was only released yesterday , so someone is spinning some yarn!
Maybe they’re eating Happy Meals.
Why is everyone leaving if we are so happy ??? More bull because local elections are coming
Everyone leaving?
I thought the population was one of the fastest growing in the EU?
Baby’s can hardly leave. Silly comment
They can they hardly stay here if the babies parents leave. Dope
Everybody is not leaving. I was out and about this morning and saw loads of people.
The Irish aren’t growing it, its split in half. Some amount breeding going on and it ain’t all of us. Time will tell, time will tell when its too late. On ye go now.
So what your saying is: ‘Ireland for the Irish’??
The amount of spin and crap the irish people are being fed through the almost entirely pro government media is scandalous , so much ambiguity so many contradictions it’s unbelievable
This report came from Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU & not the Irish government
If you are going to talk negative rubbish the at least get your facts straight
pure crap it is, tomorrow it will be about families going hungry and not affording bills = the real truth.
Families going hungry & not affording bills?
Just like every other country in the world then so.
Yeah we love being taxed to within an inch of our lives !!!! The pot holed roads are pure bliss . We live to pay back the bondholders the craters don’t have much . How much did this report cost and do they actually think we believe this spoof shite
The troika tells us to be happy so we comply
Fine Geal survey Ha
Eurostat survey
AKA EUSSR propaganda.
And what is it about the EU that resembles the USSR?? Please do provide details. Is it the free and fair elections in all member states? Or is it the accountability of the European Institutions to the European Parliament, also freely and fairly elected? Or is it the free press? Or its independent judiciary? Or the EUs commitment to invading countries on the pretext of protecting ethnic europeans? Or its determination to suppress human rights in the name of social progress? Or perhaps it is because the EU imposes high environmental standards and maintains inefficient sectors of the economy with subsidies and breaks up consumer abusing monopolies? But perhaps you have better examples of the socialist paradise. And I would hope you have some real experience of the USSR but given that you were born after the fall of that evil empire I suspect you are just parrotting an English newspaper or a trotskyist rag.
Is that you comrade Barrasso??
Born in 1966,so you were still proably a dirty glint in your mums eye when she saw the apprentice milkman behind the disco wall on a Saturday night. Yeah,was twice in East Germany under Honeckers dictatorial regimes and in Hungary once in 1984 as a tourist and exchange student…Your great claim to being an expert on Communism is…..????
Free and fair elections….Missed Ireland voting twice about the monetary union??”Free and fair” maybe but ignored unless the comrades in Brussells got their way. Oh yeah,I dont remember voting for Barasso or any of the other central party dictators,most of whom are Socialists or Euro communists of various hues…Do you??
Accountability of the European parliment…The chickens are laughing at that one mate!
EUs comittment to supplying beligirent nations with arms or illegal technology [IE France with the Iraqi nuke reactor or Italy supplying dual use chemicals to Saddam for gassing Kurds] would make up for their non invasions.Oh Wait…Lets not mention the Ukraine!
Oh yeah lets bully a neutral country {Switzerland} with “consequences and repercussions” if they dont kowtow to the EU line on immigration.
Human rights in the EU…How many millions does it take to get a case to the EU courts of Human rights or justice???Couple of million last I heard,shure we all have that in our back pocket.
Didnt see many EU[SSR} style help or rescue efforts coming to Ireland after Darwin last month?
Oh yeah I forgot the USA is of course asking all the states devastated by Katrina to pay them back pronto! Unlike here where the glorious EU is demanding those that cant pay,pay up or else!!
Proably the EUROPOL Federal thug police force will kick down your Irish door with a no knock warrant or send like the Stasi and KGB did thier local lapdogs round to do it while you disapper into the night and fog.
You can have all the trappings of” Democracy and freedom” but still be living in a golden cage.
Quite frankly you can take et EUSSR and shove it where the Sun dont shine!
Paranoid much then… Last time I checked Barosso was a christian democrat, van rompuy the same, both answer to European Parliament… because you and your kind cant be bothered to vote in that election we have a bunch of nuts and have beens there but they are accountable to you at election time… that is the way democracy works.. nobody in the USSR got to vote in the same way. Barosso et al were appointed by the member states represented by their governments who EU citizens elect. Never happened in the Soviet Union.
EU is providing storm aid. EU has rules about how money is spent to combat corruption. It has rules taht have to be followed. It is a body of law. And its institutions are answerable to the court of justice… that never happened in the USSR. Yes access to the court is expensive but it possible and the court has found the commission to have exceeded its authority and has fined it and forced it to compensate people. That never happened in the USSR. Switzerland signed a treaty with the EU promising to implement certain EU policies in return for certain favours. It voted to stop implementing policies and so the EU is withdrawing certain favours… that is the way law works, that is the way treaties work..
Yes I saw the misery of the USSR under Kruschev and Gorbachev and the impoverishment of eastern Europe and you know what is funny… all my east European friends think the EU is a paradise and they fear what will happen if the EU does collapse. Shove that roughly
Money isn’t everything and this kinda proves that.
They must have surveyed the Bangsters?
Ireland is at its happiest when it has something to moan about.
Other countries like to celebrate the triumphs and successes in their past; Ireland prefers to dwell on misery, oppression, famine, emigration and loss.
If we have a healing scab, we’ll pick it raw.
Here come the moaners…..
Inclusion of the new joiners like Romania and Bulgaria would surely bring the average down somewhat? I’d be disappointed if we didn’t come out above average.
Happy is right ,shootings ,head kicks ,bank robbers ,sure why wouldn’t we be happy aren’t we alive ,good hospitals ,great ambulance services ,we should be grateful ,unemployment high ,drug free , I ask you where else would get it ,highest paid. TDS in the world ,expenses no problem Sssssss
It looks like we lead the world in sarcastic moaning!
What’s with the sun kissed Californian kid holding clover to the camera…..
Maybe the journo could do us a poll here to see how happy we are on a scale of 1 to 10….. 1 being miserable and 10 being happy as a pig in sh1t
Ya because a journal poll would really reflect the opinions of the Irish people accurately… Haha
If you think that a poll of the knuckle draggers that populate this site is in any way representative of the general population then you are truly deluded.
For my own part I am generally happy with my lot & the vast majority of people I know are too.
Father Ted: Do you understand that Dougal?
Father Dougal: I do Ted
Father Ted: Really?
Father Dougal: No…
Just who did they Ask
Ask an Irishman how things are, and he’ll reply “grand”. Ask a German and he’ll tell you how his life could be improved.
It’s not that the Irish are happier, it’s just that they will respond differently in surveys like this.
The Stats are completely wrong … add in the 300,000 we exported to Australia and Canada since 2008 to “bail us out” and we fall to the bottom of the pile. Ireland a failed society … sorry.
I love this country so much.
More spin!
Anybody who believes thus pits should see a physiciatrist!
God help Ireland!
67 % of surveys or data can be compromised by the data used. 24 to 87% of people know this depending on which survey you choose
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