Despatch Box

Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has resigned, Following an investigation into claims of alleged bullying.

Mr Raab, who was also the justice secretary, had always denied the allegations insisting he " behaved professionally at all times" but said he would resign if bullying allegations were upheld.

He has done that, but in his resignation letter to Rishi Sunak , Mr Raab also hit back.

He Said ministers needed to be able to give direct critical feedback, and exercise direct oversight, over their civil servant officials.

He apologised for any " unintended" stress caused, but referred to the " pace, standards and challenge" he brought to the Ministry of Justice.

We still don't have The Report from senior lawyer Adam Tolley KC, who has been investigating the claims, but Mr Raab's letter also refers to " number of improprieties that came to light during The Course of this inquiry" citing the leaking of what he calls " skewed and fabricated claims to the media".

Mr Raab, who has been in and out of government since 2015, is no stranger to controversy, having hit the headlines for his statements on topics as diverse as poverty and " taking the knee".

He even quit The Cabinet before, over former Prime Minister Theresa May 's policies on Brexit.

Date of birth: 25 February 1974 (age 49)

Job: Justice secretary, deputy Prime Minister , lord chancellor, Conservative MP for Esher and Walton

Education: Dr Challoner's Grammar School, Amersham, Oxford and Cambridge universities

Family: Married to Erika Ray, a Brazilian marketing executive, with two sons

Before politics: Foreign Office lawyer. He was The Lead on a team focusing on bringing war criminals to justice at The Hague

Mr Raab was born in 1974, The Son of a Czech-born Jewish refugee who fled The Nazis in 1938.

He was brought up in Buckinghamshire and attended Dr Challoner's Grammar School in Amersham, before studying law at Oxford University and switching to Cambridge for his masters degree.

He worked as a lawyer in the commercial sector and The Foreign Office before entering politics in 2006 as an aide to Brexit-supporting Conservative MP David Davis , And Then Remain-backing Dominic Grieve .

First elected to Parliament in 2010, The Following year Mr Raab angered then-Home Secretary Theresa May by describing some feminists as " obnoxious bigots" in an online article also claiming men were getting " a raw deal".

Mrs May accused him of fuelling " gender warfare".

Mr Raab remained on the Back Benches for five years after becoming an MP.

But the karate black-belt became a junior Justice Minister Following David Cameron's general election victory in 2015.

He played a prominent role in the successful Leave campaign in the 2016 EU referendum, but was sacked by Mrs May when she took over as Prime Minister .

In 2017, Mr Raab was branded " offensive" by then-Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron after Saying " the typical user of a food bank is not someone that's languishing in poverty; it's someone who has a cash flow problem".

But in June that year he returned to government, as a Justice Minister , This Time middle-ranking rather than junior.

In Mrs May's January 2018 reshuffle he became housing Minister - One of the highest-profile non-cabinet roles in government.

And In July that year, when David Davis quit, the Prime Minister promoted Mr Raab to Brexit secretary, a cabinet post.

Yet his improved relationship with Mrs May did not last long. In November 2018, he quit, arguing that he could not " in good conscience" support the " backstop" arrangement designed to avoid a hard border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland .

As an influential Brexiteer, his comments were seen as significant in increasing opposition to Mrs May's withdrawal agreement with the EU, which MPs repeatedly rejected.

After Mrs May announced she was standing down, Mr Raab entered The Contest to become Conservative leader, and Prime Minister .

In a crowded field, he failed to get The 33 MPs' votes he needed to progress to the third round. Fellow Brexiteers Boris Johnson and Michael Gove outlasted him.

Mr Johnson, after his elimination from The Race , promoted him to Foreign Secretary and first secretary of State - effectively deputy Prime Minister .

But he only narrowly managed to hold on to his Esher and Walton seat at the 2019 general election, seeing off a strong Liberal Democrat challenge by 2,743 votes.

The overall Conservative landslide, however, on A Promise to " get Brexit done" meant he saw his dream of leaving the EU come true on 31 January 2020.

As Foreign Secretary and first secretary of State , he was the UK government's de-facto second-in-command.

He was left in charge of running much of the government when the Prime Minister was hospitalised with Covid-19 in April 2020.

Colleagues, including Mr Johnson's arch-critic and former aide Dominic Cummings , have praised Mr Raab's performance under extreme pressure.

But he has continued to anger opponents with some of his comments, in 2020 telling talkRadio's Julia Hartley-Brewer he would only " take the knee" - go down on bended knee - for " The Queen and the Mrs when I asked her to marry me".

He later qualified his remarks - Following opposition criticism of his " insulting" and " flippant" Tone - Saying he " fully" supports The Black Lives Matter campaign.

In fact, some of his remarks and gaffes have resulted in mockery. Despite a reputation for being a creature of habit, he dismissed an eye-catching

And as Brexit secretary, he came Under Fire for Saying he

As Foreign Secretary , Mr Raab was heavily criticised for his handling of The Aftermath of The Fall of Afghanistan, specifically for remaining On Holiday in Crete while The Taliban marched back to power.

He insisted he'd been across The Detail and In Touch with The Key players.

Downing Street stood by The Minister , however he was later demoted to The Role of justice secretary, which although still a cabinet position is not as prestigious as Foreign Secretary .

Mr Raab stayed publicly loyal to Mr Johnson, being One of The Few ministers not to resign during The Final chaotic week of his premiership.

In The Leadership race that followed, he enthusiastically threw his backing behind Rishi Sunak - and in August fiercely attacked The Rival candidate Liz Truss , calling her economic plans " electoral suicide".

That broadside wasn't forgotten by Ms Truss's team and Mr Raab was not included in her cabinet when she became Prime Minister .

However, Ms Truss was soon gone and Mr Raab returned to government in the familiar roles of justice secretary and deputy Prime Minister .

As Mr Sunak's deputy, he stood in for his boss at Prime Minister 's Question opposite Angela Rayner , the Labour deputy. Their exchanges across the Despatch Box were often fiery.

Source of news: bbc.com