Rishi Sunak says he does not recognise depiction of Dominic Raab as bully

Fresh reports of complaints from deputy prime minister’s stint at Foreign Office

Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab is also Justice Secretary (Aaron Chown/PA) (PA Wire)

Prime minister Rishi Sunak has come to the defence of his deputy Dominic Raab, insisting that he does not recognise depictions of him as a bully.

Mr Sunak was speaking after reports that staff at the Ministry of Justice were offered “a route out” after they learnt of Mr Raab’s return to the department, amid claims he had created a climate of fear during his time there in Boris Johnson’s administration.

Meanwhile, leaked documents obtained by ITV suggested that eight people who worked in Mr Raab’s office when he was foreign secretary reported experiencing bullying by someone and 15 said they were aware of it.