Pressure mounts on cabinet secretary to launch inquiry into claims prime minister abused Downing St staff No 10 has said claims of routine bad behaviour to staff, including junior civil servants, were a malicious falsehood. Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images The cabinet secretary, Sir Gus O'Donnell, was tonight under pressure to launch a formal investigation into Gordon Brown's treatment of his staff after an anti-bullying helpline revealed it has received several complaints from people working at No 10. It follows publication by the Observerjournalist Andrew Rawnsley of hotly- disputed allegations about Brown mistreating staff, including assertions that he swore at staff, grabbed them by lapels and shouted at them. Rawnsley also claimed O'Donnell had warned Brown to change his behaviour. The Conservatives responded to the allegations by suggesting "there may have been a cover up at the heart of government over the prime minister's behaviour". The National Anti-bullying Helpline charity went public after the business secretary, Lord Mandelson, flatly denied Rawnsley's claims, insisting that Brown was simply "demanding", "emotional, "and had a degree of impatience". Christine Pratt, the helpline's director, said: "We are not suggesting he is a bully. What we are saying is there are people in his office working directly with him that have issues and concerns, and have contacted our helpline. We believe the present statement put out by Lord Mandelson is a nonsense and non-credible." She said four staff had contacted the helpline, the last one only a few months ago. "I have personally taken a call from staff in the prime minister's office, staff who believe they are working in a bullying culture and that it has caused them some stress," she said. The claim of routine bullying was today backed up a senior former adviser to Brown in No 10, who told the Guardian: "His intense bouts of anger are unremarkable to anyone who has worked closely with him. You just have to put up with this stuff. It is part of the daily experience, almost part of the furniture. He would behave in that way constantly. He suffers from a massive paranoia and an inability to accept blame, yet he runs a blame culture that allows him to blame others. "He does not seek to win an argument, he just seeks to bully. If you have not worked closely with him before, it is truly shocking. The more he trusts you, the more he vents." The source was sure O'Donnell had been told of staff unhappiness at Brown's behaviour and had raised the issue with the prime minister. O'Donnell is likely to be grilled about what he knows and did by the justice select committee on Wednesday. Downing Street will be disturbed by the helpline's intervention. The Swindon-based helpline was set up in 1997 and insisted it was not political nor seeking publicity. The Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe is its patron and it quotes support from David Cameron on its website. Pratt insisted: "Outright denial is just non-credible in today's age. Over recent months we have had several inquiries from staff within Gordon Brown's office. Some have downloaded information; some have actually called our helpline directly and I have spoken to staff in his office." Widdecombe said she would have preferred the helpline to stay out of the row, as its cases should remain confidential. The charity has another Conservative patron, councillor Mary O'Connor, but Widdecombe defended the organisation as "utterly non-political". However, government sources questioned the charity's credentials, suggesting it had made no contact with No 10 and operated only two doors away from the local Conservative party. William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, said the allegations proved Brown was not "cut out for the job". He said on Sky News: "I don't think he has ever really shown that he can lead a happy team and maybe if there is truth in any of these allegations, that's part of the reason why." The Liberal Democrat's Treasury spokesman, Vince Cable, said Rawnsley's allegations were "worrying". No 10 said the claims of routine bad behaviour to staff, including junior civil servants, were a malicious falsehood. The Cabinet Office widened its denial tonight, saying: "It is completely untrue to say that the cabinet secretary ever gave the prime minister a verbal warning over his behaviour." It also denied claims by Rawnsley that staff in Downing Street had been so taken aback by Brown's behaviour that O'Donnell ordered a formal investigation. But Rawnsley said he had claimed only that O'Donnell had made "his own investigations" and had given Brown a verbal warning. He said his sources for the story were "24 carat". Mandelson painted a picture of a man who "gets angry but chiefly with himself, who doesn't bully people". He added that Brown "does not like taking no for an answer" and there was "a degree of impatience" about him, but he said: "I don't think he so much bullies people as he is very demanding of people." In his book, Rawnsley alleges that: • A political adviser, Stewart Wood, was "roughly shoved aside" and sworn at after arranging a lunchtime reception for EU ambassadors, and that Brown said, "Why are you making me meet these fucking people? I don't want to meet these fucking people", before storming into the room. • When informed by the deputy chief of staff, Gavin Kelly, that HM Revenue and Customs had lost computer disks containing the personal data of 20 million people, Brown "leapt across the room," and "grabbing a startled Kelly by the collar, snarled 'they are out to get me'." • Told unwelcome news in the back of his official car, the PM "reacted by swinging back an arm and clenching his fist" causing an aide to cower fearing he'd be hit. • Brown was "incandescent" with rage when he found out a newspaper was printing a story that his keynote party con ference speech borrowed phrases from US politicians. He screamed at veteran American speechwriter Bob Shrum: "How could you fucking do this to me" and swore at aides to leave the room. Shrum has denied the claims.Gordon Brown hit by fresh bullying allegations
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
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