Former British deputy prime minister Dominic Raab said he plans to stand down as a member of parliament in the upcoming elections. This comes weeks after Raab resigned from the government when an independent probe found that he bullied officials.
According to The Telegraph on Monday, Raab said he was stepping down as an MP in the upcoming elections in 2024, citing the pressure the job has placed on his family. Raab also told the chairman of the Esher and Walton Conservative Association, Peter Szanto, in a letter that he will be stepping down in the upcoming elections.
“I have become increasingly concerned over the last few years about the pressure the job has placed on my young family,” said Raab in the letter to Szanto. “I will continue to carry out all my responsibilities to my constituents, and provide every support in campaigning so that we win here next year – which I am confident we can do under this prime minister’s leadership.”
This comes weeks after Raab resigned as deputy prime minister to Rishi Sunak after an independent investigation found to uphold the bullying allegations against him. During his resignation at the time, Raab apologized for causing any unintentional stress or offense but added that the probe was setting a “dangerous precedent” for an effective government with a low threshold for what was considered bullying.
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was referred to by the Cabinet Office to the police over further potential breaches of lockdown rules during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Cabinet Office, which oversees the government’s operation, said it made the referral based on the information it found while preparing submissions for a public inquiry into the pandemic.
According to The Times, the ministerial diaries showed visits by friends to Chequers, the rural country mansion used by sitting prime ministers during the pandemic. The Cabinet Office said it passed the information to the police “in line with obligations in the civil service code.”
The London Metropolitan Police and the Thames Valley Police – which oversees the area around Chequers – said they were assessing the information related to breaches of health protection regulations from June 2020 to May 2021.
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