LONDON - Even as British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak braces himself for a report on whether his second-in-command Dominic Raab bullied staff, he is facing new allegations that a former Cabinet minister from his party berated civil servants.

Conservative MP Alok Sharma was difficult, unpredictable and could quickly lose his temper, according to four senior officials who worked with him between 2020 and 2022.

Most of the allegations stem from when he led the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the officials said, although some of the behaviour continued after he started serving as the president of United Nations climate talks. 

Mr Sharma would often express his dissatisfaction by insulting staff’s work and using profanity, without offering guidance on how to improve quality, the officials said.

Two of them characterised his behaviour during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 as bullying, saying the then Business Secretary would often call junior staff on Microsoft Teams without warning to criticise their work.

All four senior officials requested anonymity to protect their current jobs. 

Civil servants raised concerns about Mr Sharma’s behaviour with their bosses on at least four occasions in 2020, although they stopped short of filing official complaints, according to two of the officials.

They said they did not know whether staff’s concerns were relayed to then Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill, or his successor Simon Case, who would normally be apprised of official complaints in their job overseeing the entire civil service. 

Mr Sharma, 55, now a backbench Tory MP representing Reading West, did not respond to several e-mails and calls to his office over four days seeking comment on specific claims.

A government spokesman said the Cabinet Office has no records of any complaints against Mr Sharma.

British government practice does not require officials to make records of informal complaints.

The Conservative government has faced criticism that it has tolerated an abusive work culture during its 13 years in power, with the opposition Labour Party arguing it is time for a change in government.

Several senior Tory ministers have been forced to resign or have come under investigation over allegations of unprofessional behaviour in the workplace, and Mr Sunak has vowed to uphold “integrity, professionalism and accountability” in government. 

Mr Sunak may be forced to decide the fate of one of his closest allies in the coming weeks, when the results of an investigation into bullying allegations against Mr Raab, the Deputy Prime Minister, are due.

Mr Raab is facing eight formal complaints dating from his posts in three departments, incidents which British media, including the Guardian, say involve at least 24 civil servants. 

Mr Raab has denied the allegations of bullying and said he “behaved professionally at all times”.

While Mr Sharma’s time as a minister predated Mr Sunak’s ascension to the premiership in October, further allegations of misbehaviour by ruling party figures could increase pressure on him to take broader action to correct negative perceptions about the government.

The incidents described by people who worked closely with Mr Sharma echo complaints against other Conservative ministers. 

Mr Sharma had a career in banking before entering Parliament in 2010, when the Conservatives returned to power after more than a decade in opposition.

He became a minister in 2016 and was promoted to the Cabinet three years later by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

He was made Business Secretary in 2020, a post he held for almost a year before taking charge of preparing the UN climate talks in 2021.

Mr Sharma is among dozens of Johnson allies who have been nominated for seats in the House of Lords by the former prime minister, media including the Times newspaper have reported.

After receiving a knighthood in December, Mr Sharma praised the “dedicated civil servants” who had contributed to Britain’s efforts to slow global climate change during the talks in Glasgow.

Although all four senior officials who discussed Mr Sharma’s behaviour said he could be volatile, they acknowledged that working in government could be stressful, and he was under a lot of pressure.

One said he could be warm and friendly and sometimes rewarded officials who had worked late with pizza. The officials said they were not aware of any official probe into the matter.

When Mr Sharma’s alleged calls to staff’s homes failed to stop, two of the people said that senior officials started coming into the office during lockdown to draw his criticism away from junior staff working from home.

On one occasion, a lower-level official called their senior colleague in tears because Mr Sharma had unexpectedly called them to disparage their work, one person said.

All-caps e-mails

In one e-mail sent by Mr Sharma to senior officials during the first lockdown in 2020 and seen by Bloomberg, he detailed a list of thoughts and demands that increased in font size until a final point written in very large, red print.

The criticism grew increasingly demoralising and caused people to fear submitting their work to him, according to two of the people. One civil servant – who has since left the role – said they resorted to anti-depressants and mental health support to cope with their boss’ treatment. 

Still, the allegations pose a potentially wider cultural problem for Mr Sunak to tackle.

The FDA union of civil servants has said that one in six officials reported experiencing or witnessing bullying or harassment in government departments in the past year.

The ruling party’s handling of past cases has discouraged some from submitting formal complaints, one person said, citing how Mr Johnson dealt with allegations against a close ally.

The former prime minister opted not to fire then Home Secretary Priti Patel after an inquiry found she had broken ministerial rules. She had denied bullying.

The political risk for the Tories was laid bare in March when Mr Raab stood in for Mr Sunak at a weekly question session in the House of Commons.

In an allusion to the accusations against Mr Raab, Deputy Labour Party leader Angela Rayner questioned him about the government’s new policy to combat “anti-social behaviour” blamed for driving crime on the streets. 

“The Deputy Prime Minister knows first hand the misery caused by thugs and their intimidating behaviour, lurking with menace, exploding in fits of rage, creating a culture of fear, and maybe even – I do not know – throwing things,” said Ms Rayner.

“So I ask him: Under his new anti-social behaviour policy, does he think more bullies will be brought to justice?”

BLOOMBERG