Dominic Raab

Dominic Rennie Raab (; born 25 February 1974) is a British politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Secretary of State for Justice, and Lord Chancellor since October 2022, having previously served from 2021 to September 2022. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Esher and Walton since 2010. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Brexit Secretary in 2018 and as both First Secretary of State and Foreign Secretary from 2019 to 2021.

Born in Buckinghamshire, Raab attended Dr Challoner's Grammar School. He studied law at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, switching to Jesus College, Cambridge to study for a master's degree. He began his career as a solicitor at Linklaters, before working at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and as a political aide. He was elected for Esher and Walton at the 2010 general election. As a backbencher, Raab co-wrote a number of papers and books, including ''After the Coalition'' (2011) and '' Britannia Unchained'' (2012). He served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice from 2015 to 2016. Following Theresa May's appointment as Prime Minister, Raab returned to the backbenches but was appointed to the second May government as Minister of State for Courts and Justice following the 2017 general election. In the 2018 cabinet reshuffle, he was moved to the post of Minister of State for Housing and Planning.

In 2018, Raab was promoted to Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union following the resignation of David Davis. Two weeks later, Raab was deputised by May to negotiate Britain's departure from the European Union, leaving him to oversee domestic preparations instead. Four months later, Raab resigned as Brexit Secretary in opposition to May's draft Brexit withdrawal agreement.

Following May's resignation in 2019, Raab ran to succeed her in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election, eliminated in the second ballot of Conservative MPs. Following Boris Johnson's appointment as Prime Minister, Raab was appointed First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. In 2020, when the Department for International Development was merged with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Raab's post was retitled Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs. In the 2021 cabinet reshuffle, he was moved to the posts of Deputy Prime Minister, Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor. Following a stint on the backbenches during the premiership of Liz Truss, he was re-appointed to the posts in Rishi Sunak's ministry.

Early life and education

Dominic Rennie Raab was born on 25 February 1974 in Buckinghamshire. He is the son of Jean, a clothes buyer, and Peter Raab, a food manager for Marks & Spencer. His father, who was Jewish, came to Britain from Czechoslovakia in 1938 at age six, when his family decided to flee because the Munich Agreement gave the Sudetenland to Nazi Germany. Raab was brought up in his English mother's faith, in the Church of England. He grew up in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire. Raab was 12 years old when his father died of cancer.

Raab attended Dr Challoner's Grammar School, Amersham and spent a brief period as a volunteer on Kibbutz Sarid before studying law at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, where he had a room on the same corridor as future ''Channel 4 News'' presenter Cathy Newman. Raab spent his time at Oxford "doing a lot of karate" and captained the university karate team, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Jurisprudence. He then pursued further studies at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he won the Clive Parry Prize for International Law, and obtained a Master of Laws degree.

Early career

After leaving Cambridge, Raab trained professionally at the major City of London law firm Linklaters, completing his mandatory two-year training contract at the firm. Raab qualified as a solicitor in the UK under Linklaters in the year 2000, leaving the firm shortly after qualifying, also in 2000. At Linklaters, Raab worked on project finance, international litigation and competition law. This included time on secondments at Liberty (the human rights NGO) and in Brussels advising on EU and WTO law.

In total Raab worked for six years professionally as a solicitor after qualifying, in both commercial work and Civil service positions for the government in the Foreign Office, before leaving the legal profession to pursue politics in 2006.

During his time as a lawyer in the Civil Service under the Labour Government until 2006, Raab's briefs included leading a team at the British Embassy in The Hague, dedicated to bringing war criminals to justice in a position closely linked to Tony Blair. After returning to London, he advised on the Arab–Israeli conflict, the European Union and Gibraltar. He defended Tony Blair against a subpoena from former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević.

On moving from the legal profession to politics in 2006, Raab's first political roles as part of the Conservative Party were as an aide to MP David Davis, and then to Dominic Grieve. When, most of two decades later in 2021 in his ministerial political career Raab was appointed Justice Secretary, he was described within the legal press as an "ex-rookie" solicitor of a major law firm.

Parliamentary career

Member of Parliament

Raab was elected to Parliament at the 2010 election to represent Esher and Walton, a then-safe Conservative seat in Surrey, with a total of 32,134 votes (58.9% of the vote) and a majority of 18,593 over his nearest rival.

He lives in and commutes from Thames Ditton, in his constituency. Since being elected he has campaigned for fairer funding for local services in Elmbridge, stronger local democracy in the running of community hospitals in Cobham, Walton and Molesey, more visible and responsive policing, and against the construction of an M25 service station at Downside.

In the House of Commons, Raab spoke in support of the coalition government's plans to cut the budget deficit, expand academy schools, repeal the Identity Cards Act 2006, and enact a Freedom Bill. He criticised the government for opting into the EU directive on the European Investigation Order, arguing it would strain operational policing resources, and would dilute safeguards protecting British citizens from misuse of personal data and guaranteeing a fair trial.

He came to media attention in August 2010, after requesting that the pressure group 38 Degrees remove his parliamentary email address from their website, arguing that lobby groups sending or coordinating 'clone emails' designed to deluge MPs' inboxes detracted from their ability to correspond with constituents and help those in real need. 38 Degrees said that the email address is paid for by taxpayers' money and is in the public domain, thus they have every right to host it on their website and use it for campaigning.

Raab has participated in debates on giving prisoners the vote and extradition. In April 2011, he also presented an ultimately unsuccessful Ten Minute Rule Bill proposing that emergency service and transport unions should be required by law to ensure that strike votes receive 50% support of union members. Raab argued that reform was needed to prevent "militant union bosses" holding the "hard working majority" to ransom.

On 7 March 2012, Raab opened a debate in the House of Commons on Sergei Magnitsky and Impunity for Gross Human Rights Abuses, calling on the UK government to bring forward legislative proposals that would allow it to impose visa bans and asset freezes on state officials responsible for gross human rights abuses against individuals. The motion was supported by three former Foreign Secretaries and two former Foreign Ministers and had cross-party support and was passed unanimously by MPs.

On 30 January 2014, Raab proposed an amendment to the Immigration Bill to deport all prisoners given a sentence of a year or more. It was defeated, but allowed 99 members to voice that change was necessary to prevent immigrants convicted of crimes from using the ECHR as support to remain in the UK.

In the 2015 general election on 7 May, Raab retained his Esher and Walton seat with a majority of 28,000 votes over his nearest rival. On 12 May, he was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice under Michael Gove, with responsibility for human rights questions. In September 2015, in this capacity, he addressed representatives of the 46 other member states of the Council of Europe on the question of the UK's blanket ban on prisoner voting.

In the 2017 general election, Raab was elected with a reduced majority of 23,000. In the 2019 general election, he was reelected with a significantly reduced majority of 2,743.

In February 2018, Raab advertised for an unpaid intern just ahead of a Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) publication responding to the Taylor review on insecure work. The BEIS report criticised "exploitative unpaid internships", saying "an employer cannot avoid paying someone the minimum wage simply by calling them an 'intern' or saying that they are doing an internship."

In the 2018 cabinet reshuffle Raab was appointed Minister of State for Housing and Planning.

Libel case

On 30 January 2011, ''The Mail on Sunday'' published an article alleging – falsely – that Raab, in his previous role as Chief of Staff to David Davis in 2007, had paid a female employee £20,000 in an out-of-court settlement as part of a confidentiality agreement to drop a claim of workplace bullying. Raab responded by stating: "This is a smear and any insinuation that I have behaved improperly is false and malicious". He subsequently sued the newspaper for libel. ''The Mail on Sunday''s publisher Associated Newspapers' attempt to stop the action was denied by the High Court in December 2011.

During these proceedings, it was disclosed that the employee had taken a claim against Raab to an employment tribunal, where it was settled with a compromise agreement which included monetary compensation and a confidentiality clause for both parties. The newspaper issued an apology on 18 March 2012, stating: "We accept that our allegations were unfounded and we apologise to Mr Raab for the damage, embarrassment and offence caused".

Westminster dossier

In late October 2017, a dossier listing allegations of a mainly sexual nature against several dozen Conservative MPs made internally by party researchers was circulated at Westminster and amongst journalists. Raab wrote on his website at the beginning of November that his entry made a false accusation of an "Injunction for inappropriate behaviour with a woman". He commented: "I have never been served with any injunction for anything. Nor have I ever sought one". It was "false and malicious" to make "any insinuation that I have engaged in anything resembling sexual harassment, sexually abusive behaviour or lewd remarks". He believed the dossier itself was a "form of harassment and intimidation". Raab said he was taking legal advice.

Impact of immigration on the housing market

In April 2018, as Minister of State for Housing and Planning Raab said in an interview that immigration had "put house prices up by something like 20%" over the past 25 years. The UK Statistics Authority asked Raab to publish the evidence for his claim. A document published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government shows that the finding was based on an out-of-date model that had never been intended for this kind of analysis. Raab defended the model and said: "I did indeed say care was needed with the data, and I was right that immigration put average prices up by 20%. We need a balanced approach."

EU referendum campaign

Raab was an active campaigner in the 2016 EU membership referendum, advocating that Britain should leave the European Union. He said in an interview that it would be better for the British economy to leave: "We'll be better off if we're freed up to trade more energetically with the growth markets like Latin America and Asia. I think it will be good for job creation and also cut prices in the stores." He also argued that there was too much waste and corruption in the EU. During the Brexit campaign, Raab repeatedly argued that there was no doubt that the UK would get a trade deal with the EU.

Brexit Secretary

On 9 July 2018, following the resignation of David Davis, Raab was appointed Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, and was later deputised by Theresa May after just two weeks to oversee domestic preparations while May would be in charge of actually meeting with EU Officials.

In November 2018, Raab was criticised by Labour's shadow Brexit minister, Jenny Chapman, after Raab said that he "hadn't quite understood the full extent" of how much UK trade relies on the Dover–Calais crossing.

On 15 November 2018, Raab announced his resignation as Brexit Secretary, citing his disapproval over the Cabinet position on the draft Brexit withdrawal agreement. According to a BBC News report, Raab was concerned with "two major and fatal flaws" in the draft agreement, namely that the proposed terms "threaten the integrity of the United Kingdom" and that "they would lead to an indefinite if not permanent situation where he UK islocked into a regime with no say over the rules being applied, with no exit mechanism", flaws which would prove "damaging for the economy but devastating for public trust in our democracy". While subsequently describing May's deal as worse than remaining in the EU, he voted in favour of it at the occasion of the third vote on the withdrawal agreement on 29 March 2019. He described the Irish backstop as "undemocratic and ..something that will have to be removed."

Following his resignation, Raab defended the position that the UK should not pay the so-called Brexit divorce bill (amounting to around £39 billion) in the event of a no-deal Brexit. This bill reflects commitments which the UK entered into for the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework for the years 2014–2020 and so according to some interpretations is not linked to Britain's exit from the European Union. The House of Lords alternatively found that the UK would not be liable for such payments.

In June 2019, unnamed EU sources claimed that Raab had been nicknamed "The Turnip" in Brussels, a play on ''raap'', the Dutch word for the vegetable, suggesting EU dissatisfaction with his negotiation strategy.

2019 Conservative Party leadership election

On 25 May 2019, Raab announced he was standing in the Conservative Party leadership election after Theresa May announced her resignation. In the second round of voting, on 18 June, Raab failed to obtain the required minimum number of 33 votes, winning 30 and finishing in sixth place, behind Sajid Javid. After being eliminated, he endorsed the frontrunner Boris Johnson, who subsequently won the contest.

First Secretary of State and Foreign Secretary

On 24 July 2019, Boris Johnson appointed Raab Foreign Secretary, succeeding Jeremy Hunt, and handed him the additional title First Secretary of State. On arrival at the Foreign Office, Raab said: "I'm hugely humbled to take on this role at this time and excited about the opportunities that lie ahead."

In 2019, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled that the United Kingdom must transfer the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius as they were not legally separated from the latter in 1965. In its statement rejecting the ruling, the Foreign Office said: "The United Kingdom has no doubt about its sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, which has been under continuous British sovereignty since 1814." The shadow foreign secretary, Lisa Nandy, in a letter to Raab said the UK position "is damaging to Britain's reputation, undermines your credibility and moral authority".

Raab stood in for Johnson at Prime Minister's Questions on 2 October 2019, as First Secretary of State.

On 3 January 2020, the high-level Iranian General, Qasem Soleimani, was assassinated by the United States, which considerably heightened the existing tensions between the two countries. Raab backed the strike, describing the American action as self-defence. He said that his government had "always recognised the aggressive threat posed by the Iranian Quds force".

Raab supported Johnson's decision to allow China's Huawei to build part of UK's 5G network despite U.S. and Australian opposition.

On 23 March, during the coronavirus pandemic, the government confirmed that Raab, as First Secretary of State, was to deputise for Johnson if he became "incapacitated" due to COVID-19. On 6 April, after Johnson was admitted to an intensive care unit due to his illness with COVID-19, Raab was asked to deputise for Johnson. In April 2020, Raab was questioned in the first two sessions of virtual Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) by new Labour Leader Keir Starmer.

In April 2020, Raab warned that the UK cannot go back to "business as usual" with China after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On 16 June, it was announced by the Prime Minister that Raab would absorb the responsibilities of the Secretary of State for International Development in September 2020 upon the formation of a joint department called the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. His brief changed to Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on 2 September, and he said that the UK would continue to spend 0.7% of its national income on foreign aid.

After the 30 June 2020 imposition by the Xi Jinping regime of the national security law in Hong Kong, Raab described the following day in the Commons what he saw as a "grave and deeply disturbing" event, dissected the affront to the Sino-British Joint Declaration in the Commons, and announced a new chapter in Hong Kong–United Kingdom relations with substantial changes to the idea of British National (Overseas) permits. Raab did not rule out boycotting the 2022 Winter Olympics over the treatment of the Uyghur Muslims by the Chinese government.

Raab welcomed the peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, saying he was gladdened by suspension of Israel's plans to annex parts of the occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank. Raab also welcomed the normalization of relations between Israel and Sudan saying that it is "a positive step between two valued friends."

In March 2020, Raab visited the mausoleum of the Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and called Turkey a "staunch ally in NATO and one of its largest contributors of military personnel." Raab said, "The UK stands with Turkey in the fight against terrorism, and recognises the serious threat posed" by the Kurdish separatist movement PKK. On 6 October, Raab warned that the result of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan may be the strengthening of relations between Russia and Turkey, saying that a "battle for geopolitical stances is in progress. I believe that even though the behavior of our Turkish partners in NATO is sometimes disappointing, we need to be very careful with the risk that Turkey is falling into Russia's arms."

On 10 May 2021, Raab condemned rocket attacks on Israel and called for "immediate de-escalation on all sides" and an "end to targeting of civilian populations".

On 15 August 2021, as the Taliban militant group once again controlled a vast majority of Afghan territory, the Taliban began capturing the capital city of Kabul. Raab was abroad on holiday when Kabul fell to the Taliban. He returned to the UK on 16 August and said the UK government was surprised by the "scale and pace" of the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan. Defence secretary, Ben Wallace admitted all remaining UK nationals and Afghan allies might not get away and said "Some people won't get back". Unnamed sources told ''The Guardian'' Raab refused to talk to some Foreign Office staff and this allegedly caused problems during the Afghanistan evacuation. Raab denies the claims. The Foreign Affairs Select Committee said the government was "missing in action" after examining the episode. Unnamed insiders told ''The Guardian'' in November 2022 that Raab limited the number of senior staff he dealt with. Unnamed sources said "Decisions that should have taken hours took days or simply did not happen." Raab allegedly avoided communicating with "those he found to be challenging voices".

Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary

First term (2021–2022)

In a cabinet reshuffle on 15 September 2021, Raab was appointed Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor. He was also given the title of Deputy Prime Minister, a post unused since the Cameron–Clegg coalition.

Raab declined to run in the July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election. He endorsed Rishi Sunak's leadership bid.

In August 2022, Raab moved to block the release of the parents of now seven year old Tony Hudgell, who had been abused by them and had to have his legs amputated.

''The Guardian'' reported in December 2022 that Raab prevented the victims' commissioner for England and Wales being reappointed and is not expected to replace her for months. According to Victims' groups, critical legislation was going through parliament without an independent reviewer. Unnamed sources stated Raab intervened to stop Vera Baird staying as victims' commissioner.

Second term (2022–present)

Raab was reappointed by Rishi Sunak as Deputy Prime Minister, Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor on 25 October 2022. In November 2022, Raab said that terrorist offenders will face longer sentences if they commit crime, such as vandalising cells, while in prison.

Behaviour complaints

On 16 November 2022, two formal complaints were made about Raab's behaviour during his time as Justice Secretary and Foreign Secretary in Boris Johnson's government. Allegations against Raab included that he lost his temper during work and that staff were "scared" to enter his office. After Raab had been notified about the two formal complaints, Rishi Sunak agreed to Raab's request for an independent inquiry into the complaints. Raab said he would "co-operate fully" and that he would "thoroughly rebut and refute" the claims against him. He said he had "never tolerated bullying" and was confident that he had behaved professionally. Adam Tolley KC was appointed to undertake the investigation. "The prime minister will remain the arbiter of the code," the PM's official spokesman stated.

''The Observer'' was told in November 2022 there were concerns about the way Raab treated officials while he was Brexit secretary in 2018. An unnamed senior source said that a prominent official in the Brexit department sent a document stating a "formal expression of concern" to the Cabinet Office. ''The Observer'' understands the document claimed "unprofessional, even bullying, conduct of the minister towards his private office". A source who knew the complaint said that no action was taken. Sources close to Raab denied the complaint. A formal investigation will include looking at what Raab did in 2018 as Brexit secretary.

''The Guardian'' reported in November 2022 that unnamed Ministry of Justice sources said that senior civil servants, who directly experienced Raab's alleged aggressive behaviour and bullying had made "a handful" of formal complaints. An unnamed MoJ insider told ''The Guardian'' that the new allegations were "more serious and more specific" than previous claims over Raab's abrasive management style. Raab was allegedly "demeaning and aggressive" to staff. Unnamed Whitehall sources earlier complained Raab had behaved "so badly and inappropriately" at an earlier high-level meeting that Antonia Romeo had to contact senior officials of the home secretary to express regret.

Simon McDonald said in November 2022 that staff were "scared to go into his aab'soffice" due to his "controlling" manner. McDonald, who was with Raab at the Foreign Office said: "It was language, it was tone, he would be very curt with people. And he did this in front of a lot of other people." McDonald said that people felt demeaned, that Raab "was not aware of the impact of his behaviour (...) and couldn't be made to see that impact." A spokesman for Raab denied the allegations. Helen Grant, who worked with Raab as a minister at the Foreign Office, said Raab had been "very decent", with "high professional standards".

In November 2022 it was reported in ''The Guardian'' that senior civil servants in the Ministry of Justice were offered "respite or a route out" of the department after Raab was reappointed due to fears that some were traumatised by his behaviour when he was there before. Antonia Romeo allegedly spoke to Raab to warn him to treat staff professionally and with respect. Multiple unnamed sources within the Ministry of Justice told ''The Guardian'' that Raab created a "culture of fear" in the department. The unnamed sources said that Raab was "demeaning rather than demanding", was "very rude and aggressive" and "wasn't just unprofessional, he was a bully". Raab's spokesman said he "holds himself to the highest standards of professionalism". '' The Sun'' suggested Raab had once hurled tomatoes from a salad across a room in a fit of anger. Raab's spokesman said the claim was "nonsense".

''The Times'' reported a formal complaint that civil servants were "signed off work for extended periods of time" when Raab was Justice secretary. Some civil servants were allegedly left in tears after speaking to Raab or his senior team according to ''The Times''. The newspaper further suggested that work pressure and unreasonable deadlines impacted some colleagues' mental and physical health to the point where they saw their GPs. A group of mid-ranking officials reportedly submitted the complaint against Raab in March 2022. The report was allegedly resubmitted in the week to 17 November 2022 after the government stated that no formal complaints had been made against Raab. It was further reported that the complaint also alleged there was a "tangible shift towards a dysfunctional working culture is starting to hinder" effective work in the department.

On 24 November 2022 ''The Guardian'' reported that ''BBC
...