String of vacancies in Dominic Raab’s office as formal complaints mount

Dominic Raab’s office is scrambling to fill yet another vacancy, as formal complaints against the deputy prime minister’s conduct continue to mount.

An internal civil service job advert seen by The Independent shows the deputy prime minister’s office is looking for another senior mandarin on as much as £76,000 to start in the new year.

The role, for deputy principal private secretary, will involve working closely with Mr Raab.

It comes after the civil service last week separately advertised for as many as 10 new private secretaries to work in his office.

The Independent understands that the Ministry of Justice did not have 10 vacancies to fill at this point, but was also keen to build a list of qualified candidates to hold on standby in case further people quit.

The posting of the latest jobs came as the government inquiry into the deputy prime minister's behaviour last week expanded to cover eight separate formal complaints about his behaviour at work.

Mr Raab, who says he has behaved professionally at work at all times, is accused of leaving some staff members too scared to enter his office because of allegedly “abrasive and controlling” behaviour.

The latest vacancy was advertised as “varied, interesting, and demanding”. Both roles involve liaising with the top Tory, who has a dual job as Rishi Sunak’s deputy prime minister and justice secretary.

Rishi Sunak has stood by his colleague, who has not been suspended and is turning up to work as normal despite the eight formal complaints against him.

When allegations were put to the prime minister, Mr Sunak said in November that he did not “recognise that characterisation” of Mr Raab. The minister requested the independent inquiry into himself, to which Mr Sunak agreed.

The prime minister is also facing pressure to appoint an ethics adviser, with the job lying vacant for nearly six months despite a pledge to fill it. The last ethics adviser quit during Boris Johnson’s tenure and has yet to be replaced.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “This is a proactive recruitment campaign to ensure we can fill roles across our private offices for the deputy prime minister, junior ministers and permanent secretary, as and when vacancies arise.

“There are not 10 vacancies – there is one. The intention is to create a reserve list that can be called upon so that roles can be quickly filled in future.”