HERE WE ARE "MOVING ON" AGAIN WITH "JUST BORIS" AND VIOLETTE ELIZABETH

Do they look ashamed or or just guilty?

We have, again, to review the situation regarding the Home Secretary Priti Patel a.k.a. Violet Elizabeth Bott. More legal action is afoot.

To review:

 

1-    Sir Phillip Rutman resigned from his job as Permanent Secretary at the Home Office in February 2020 and brought an action against the Government for constructive and unfair dismissal making allegations of bullying against the Home Secretary Priti Patel.

2-  A Cabinet Office inquiry ensued and the Prime Minister was advised of certain findings by Sir Alex Allan, Whitehall’s independent adviser of ministerial standards. The inquiry was completed at the start of the summer of 2020 and sent to the Prime Minister.

3-   The Prime Minister has not published the full report, but a statement by Sir Alex Allan said the Ms Patel had “not consistently met the high standards required by the ministerial code of treating civil servants with consideration and respect". He went on to say that Ms Patel’s behaviour met the civil service definition of bullying as “intimidating or insulting behaviour that makes an individual feel uncomfortable, frightened, less respected or put down”.

4-   As the sole arbiter of the rules, the Prime Mister decides if there has been a breach. Just Boris ignored Sir Alex Allan’s findings and decided Ms Patel did not breach the code.

5-  As a result, Sir Alex Allan, a public servant with a long career, has resigned.

6-  Ms Patel said “I am sorry that my behaviour in the past has upset people. It has never been my intention to cause upset to anyone.”  She will still have to answer questions before an industrial tribunal is respect of Sir Philip Rutman’s complaint, should that tribunal ever be held.

All that took place in November 2020. I believe Sir Philip's Tribunal is set for September of this year.

I posted a blog about the matter on the 23^rd November 2020. What I did not mention was that this is not the first time the Minister’s behaviour has been called into question. An official at the Department of Works and Pensions received a £25,000 playout after she alleged that she had been bullied in 2015 by Ms Patel, who was employment minister at the time. The DWP did not admit liability and the case did not come before a tribunal. In addition, officials in Ms Patel’s private Office at the Department for International Development allegedly accused her of humiliating civil servants in front of others while a minister in 2017.

So, everyone around her is prepared to resign, because of her intolerable behaviour, but she is allowed to stay on. She allows herself to continue to “unintentionally” bully and harass those around her.

Back in November 2020 I wrote:

Because of the difficult nature of sometimes frequent and rapid changes in policy and programs, there is inevitably a high level of stress and anxiety in the offices and corridors of the workplace. Ministers, who are merely temporary, but with a job to do, are even more stressed because they have to try to get done things, that may be quite challenging, in what they perceive as the very short time they are in the job. They want to be seen as being active with great efficiency, and so feel they must push the people who actually do things, to do the things they want done as soon as possible, Hence, the code of conduct, to regulate the stress levels. The long and short of it is, that if Ministers cannot cope with the stress levels, they should not be Ministers. We, unfortunately have just such a Minister at the Home Office. Ms. Priti Patel. She has been found wanting, and very much in breach of the Code of Conduct. She has repeatedly been accused of bullying staff, and her behaviour has been found to be just that, although it might have been unintentional. She added that there were difficulties because some civil servants had been un-cooperative. She has profusely apologised, and claimed that if she has caused distress it was entirely unintentional.  It is clear, however, that she had been warned on several occasions that she must not treat her staff in ‘that manner’, or speak to them in ‘that way’. Despite this, she claims it was unintentional, which clearly indicates that she is not able to control herself, and will more than likely carry on behaving exactly as she has before the enquiry. The stress is obviously too much for her to deal with her own behaviour. She should have the decency to resign herself, but where the current administration is concern, the matter of integrity does not arise. 

As a result of all of the above, and continued efforts to deal with the matter, three months on,  Mr Dave Penman the General Secretary of the FDA – the civil servants’ union – has stated that the FDA is taking legal action against the Government for the Prime Minister’s failure to accept the findings of bullying by Ms Patel. Saying “I’m sorry” just doesn’t work, as she probably continues, despite herself, to behave as she always has done in the past. Why should another £25,000 of taxpayer’s money be thrown away to keep this person as a Minister. She should be made to pay the money herself, or have the decency to resign. Perhaps she tells "Just Boris" again “I'll thcream and thcream 'till I'm thick"” Just what hold has she got on Boris? (In the previous blog I did mention the similarity between Boris Johnson, Priti Patel and the 'Just Wiiliam' characters created by Richmal Crompton). If the FDA's action prevails, "Just Boris" may not be able to just 'move on' again. I repeat, public funds, needed more importantly elsewhere, should not be wasted on legal actions to protect "Violet Elizabeth" Patel.