An inquiry into allegations that the home secretary, Priti Patel, bullied staff must be published immediately amid claims the inquiry’s chief is resisting pressure from Downing Street to exonerate her, Labour has said.
The shadow home secretary, Nick Thomas-Symonds, wrote to the Cabinet Office minister, Michael Gove, on Saturday, saying the delay in publishing the findings is unacceptable.
A Cabinet Office investigation was launched in March following claims that Patel, who denies all the allegations, mistreated staff and clashed with senior officials in three departments, including in her current role as home secretary. It is understood that the report has been completed.
In a letter to Gove, Thomas-Symonds and the shadow Cabinet Office minister, Rachel Reeves, said the delay “creates the clear sense that the government is acting in the interests of a Conservative party elite, rather than the national interest”.
They added: “We have been asking frontline public servants to make extraordinary sacrifices throughout this pandemic and it is only right that they have full faith in those in government who make demands of them.
“This report must now be published immediately for it to be properly considered before recess begins, and we look forward to your confirmation of this.”
The investigation was launched by the cabinet secretary, Sir Mark Sedwill, who was in effect sacked following reports of tensions between him and senior figures in Boris Johnson’s team in No 10.
The Times reported a “standoff” between senior officials and political aides over the publication of the inquiry’s findings.
The paper said senior civil servant Helen MacNamara is refusing to exonerate Patel from some of the allegations of bullying, despite the prime minister’s aides reportedly wanting the inquiry to say it found no conclusive evidence.
Thomas-Symonds said in the letter: “It has been over four months since the government promised a report into whether the home secretary broke the ministerial code. There are now allegations of deeply inappropriate political interference in the publication of the report, both in terms of content and timing. The delay in producing it is totally unacceptable.”
Sir Philip Rutnam, who was the Home Office’s permanent secretary, quit in February, accusing the home secretary of a “vicious and orchestrated briefing campaign” against him. The inquiry is separate to an employment tribunal claim he has also launched against Patel.
The home secretary expressed concern at the “false” claims and allies described her as a demanding boss, but not a bully.
A Cabinet Office spokeswoman said: “The prime minister asked the Cabinet Office to establish the facts of the case, in line with the ministerial code. That process is ongoing and we will respond to the letter in due course.”