Jubilee Post News & Views
Jubilee News Desk
Britain’s first Indian origin Home Secretary Priti Patelis surrounded by controversy. She has been accused of misbehaving with a staff member, though she has stated the charges are wrong.
Sir Philip Rutnam, the top civil servant at the Home Office, quit on February 29 and launched a blistering attack on Home Secretary Priti Patel. He said he had been the target of a vicious and orchestrated briefing campaign. The civil servant’s resignation comes after reports last weekend of tensions between the pair and allegations that Patel mistreated officials and tried to removed Rutnam from her department, which she has denied.
Priti Sushil Patel is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Witham since 2010. She served as Secretary of State for International Development from 2016 to 2017.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has supported Priti. Johnson has said Priti Patel is a “fantastic” Home Secretary as he backed his senior cabinet minister. Johnson was asked about the controversy and allegations of bullying against the Indian-origin minister by Sir Philip Rutnam, her former permanent secretary, during a visit to Public Health England in north London on Sunday.
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“Absolutely,” he said, “I think she is a fantastic home secretary. Anybody who has been home secretary will testify it is one of the toughest jobs,” the prime minister said. According to the BBC the first complaint against Priti came when she was the employment minister.
What are the charges
Sir Philip Rutnam on February 29 said he got to know about misbehavior and shaming of the staff amd he was ready for taking a legal step against the home department. According to the BBC the first complaint came against Priti when she was employment minister for department for work and pensions. What was the exact complaint is not known.
It is said that that complaint was made by some staff in her private office. In a private office there are six to eight bureaucrats working for the minister. The spokesperson of Priti said she was not aware about any such complaint. She did not turned down any allegation but said she wont talk on personal issues.
According to BBC Priti had created a negative and unhappy atmosphere and raised question upon the capacity of bureaucrats. David Penman, head of the association of senior bureaucrats said that there have been no complaints against Priti ever since she joined home department but there is no policy for complaint against ministers, no code neither transparency.
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