Tory leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch tonight hit out at ‘smears’ from former staff as she addressed allegations of ‘bullying and traumatising’ behaviour.
The former business secretary dismissed ‘utterly false’ claims about her treatment of civcil servants while she was a government minister.
She responded to a Guardian report that at least three officials at her old department found her behaviour so traumatising they felt they had no choice but to leave.
It was also claimed that staff morale was so low last year that top officials deemed it necessary to address concerns about the working culture at the Department for Business and Trade.
This was done at a ‘town hall’ meeting attended by about 70 staff in person and online in December 2023, according to the newspaper.
But, in a series of social media posts this evening, Ms Badenoch blasted a Guardian ‘hit job’.
Tory leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch tonight hit out at ‘smears’ from former staff as she addressed allegations of ‘bullying and traumatising’ behaviour.
It was claimed that staff morale was so low last year that top officials deemed it necessary to address concerns about the working culture at the Department for Business and Trade
Ms Badenoch is currently the bookies’ favourite to replace Rishi Sunak as Tory leader. She is competing against James Cleverly, Robert Jenrick, Priti Patel, Mel Stride and Tom Tugendhat
Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, the now shadow housing secretary claimed her Tory leadership campaign launch had ‘spooked the lefties’.
‘Now they’re coming for the one person they know can beat Keir Starmer,’ she added. ‘It’s all utterly false. But I won’t let it stop me or my campaign.’
Sources told the Guardian that at least three senior officials in Ms Badenoch’s private office felt in effect pushed out by what they claimed was ‘bullying and traumatising’ behaviour during the 17 months she ran the Department for Business and Trade.
Others were said to have ‘dreaded’ meetings and claimed individuals were regularly left feeling humiliated by Ms Badenoch and reduced to tears on a handful of occasions.
The atmosphere in Ms Badenoch’s private office was described as being dependent on her ‘mercurial’ moods and was ‘often toxic and intimidating’, the report added.
Ms Badenoch is currently the bookies’ favourite to replace Rishi Sunak as Tory leader.
She is competing against fellow Conservative former ministers James Cleverly, Robert Jenrick, Priti Patel, Mel Stride and Tom Tugendhat.
When she launched her leadership campaign, Ms Badenoch claimed an ‘incoherent’ set of policies were to blame for the Tories suffering their worst general election result on 4 July.
She accused successive Conservative prime ministers of allowing Britain to become ‘increasingly liberal’ and tolerating ‘nasty identity politics’.
‘We talked right yet governed left,’ she said, adding that ‘renewal’ was the first task for a new party leader and that she would aim to rebuild the party by 2030.
A spokesperson at the Department for Business and Trade said: ‘We cannot comment on individual HR matters.
‘However, there have never been any formal complaints or investigations into the previous secretary of state’s conduct at this department.
‘It is common for government departments to seek the views of civil servants and to discuss the results of those surveys in routine meetings with staff.
‘We do not tolerate abuse or bullying of any kind.’
