Priti Patel is Sorry (VIDEO)

The bitch is sorry. (*Eye-roll.*) 

At the Guardian U.K., "How Boris Johnson found grounds to ignore Priti Patel bullying verdict: Sir Alex Allan was clear in his central finding against home secretary but offered caveats":

How Boris Johnson found grounds to ignore Priti Patel bullying verdict https://t.co/BZJlAw6rUA

— The Guardian (@guardian) November 20, 2020

Boris Johnson’s decision to ignore the verdict of his independent adviser on ministerial standards, Sir Alex Allan, on a bullying inquiry into the home secretary has been met with indignation.

Allan, a public servant with a 47-year career in the civil service, was clear in his central finding that Priti Patel’s behaviour was in breach of the ministerial code, and he has resigned in the face of Johnson’s contrary ruling.

But did Allan’s statement on his findings leave the prime minister with some room for manoeuvre? Here we look at some of the key passages:

‘Justifiably frustrated’

The home secretary says that she puts great store by professional, open relationships. She is action-orientated and can be direct. The home secretary has also become – justifiably in many instances – frustrated by the Home Office leadership’s lack of responsiveness and the lack of support she felt in DfID [the Department for International Development] three years ago.

Analysis Allan says civil servants – particularly senior civil servants – should be able to handle robust criticism, though they should not “face behaviour that goes beyond that”. In his advice, Allan suggests that on more than one occasion Patel was justified in being frustrated at the operation of the Home Office. The background to the inquiry is a rift between Patel and the former top civil servant at the Home Office, Sir Philip Rutnam, who quit and launched tribunal proceedings against the minister. Allan acknowledges there were issues with the Home Office leadership – an allusion to Rutnam – and the lack of support.