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Friday 20 November 2020

Priti Patel - Excuses At The Ready

Just when the Labour leadership was feeling the heat, the opposition rode to their rescue: yes, the report on allegations of bullying against Priti Patel, inexplicably appointed Home Secretary by alleged Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, is about to stop being sat on by Bozo and will have its findings made public. Perhaps.


We know this as the BBC has reportedA draft report concluded in the summer that Home Secretary Priti Patel had broken rules on ministers' behaviour, sources familiar with the contents say”. One source admitted that “the investigation had found evidence of bullying, even if it had not been intentional”. She was bullying in her spare time, perhaps.


So who would like to defend this second serious breach of the ministerial code by Ms Patel? Rather a lot of grovelling Tory MPs, it seems, like Peter Gibson, who represents Darlington. “[Priti Patel] is doing a tough job tackling some of the toughest issues. Incredibly grateful to her for her time this week”. And his colleague Dehenna Davidson.


Being Home Secretary is one of the toughest jobs around, and it takes a tough character to take it on. [Priti Patel] is working non-stop to deliver what our country voted for”. And Robert Courts, representing Witney and West Oxfordshire: “Principled, determined, delivers on her promises, acts on common-sense, tough whilst personally kind - and with one of the toughest jobs in Government”. Tough. Kind. Principled. And it gets worse.


Marco Longhi (Dudley North) claimed “Left-wing wokerati detest [Priti Patel] because she is a tough Home Secretary delivering on promises for a points-based immigration system, clamping down on illegal immigration and investing in our Police force”. Susan Hall of Greater London Tories: “The MSM going mad regarding [Priti Patel] - many ministers tweeting support and I can understand why”. Most of the MSM are saying nothing.


And oh look, it’s Kieran Mullan, who is supposed to be representing the electorate of Crewe and Nantwich. “Having worked closely with [Priti Patel] I never saw any bullying behaviour, just someone determined”. Didn’t you tell the media, Kieran? Y’see, the only thing a search turns up is her visit last November. Before the General Election.


On it goes: Aaron Bell (Newcastle under Lyme) tells “Our Home Secretary [Priti Patel] is hugely popular in Newcastle-under-Lyme - people here know that her priorities are the same as their priorities”. Your mouth is Bournemouth. James Cleverly (Braintree) added “I’m proud that my friend and neighbour [Priti Patel] is leading the Home Office and delivering increased police numbers and secure borders”. Or not so secure borders.


James Brokenshire: “As Home Secretary Priti is a strong leader & rightly demanding but is also kind, thoughtful & dedicated to public service”. Yeah, right. And Tom Tugendhat: “The reason [Priti Patel] has support across [The Conservative Party] is because she’s hard working, determined and has been very kind to many”. No, it’s sheer desperation.


Jacob Rees Mogg was there with a patronising sneer, too. “[Priti Patel] is a formidable Home Secretary … an asset to government and a great Great Officer of State”. And Matt Hancock: “I haven’t seen this report, and I understand it hasn’t been published yet. But I do work with Priti Patel and she is nothing but courteous”. Which means one thing.


What is in the report that Bozo has managed not to release for several months is highly likely to be damning. And the idea that Ms Patel did bully her civil servants, but didn’t realise she was doing it, is for the birds. She broke the ministerial code while serving in Theresa May’s cabinet, and was rightly sacked as a result. Now she’s broken it again. But no-one resigns in Bozo world. So she’ll probably get let off.

And that’s not good enough. But you knew that already.


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15 comments:

Unknown said...

Nick Ferrari was throwing his weight behind Priti and so were his callers

Andy McDonald said...

According to the Times, she forced people to work to the point of collapse. People were driven to attempting suicide. Yet Johnson is expected to seize upon the fact that staff did not raise issues directly with her, because that's the procedure.

Yes, they had to raise the bullying issue with her, and were clearly scared of doing so. This isn't about her sex, or race. Nor is it about her politics. She is clearly someone who enjoys belittling and humiliating people she sees as inferior to her.

And for all the "can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen" types out there, shut it. I had a boss like this once. Unreasonable demands, no respect for workplace rules or norms, not even that effective in delivering stuff, as they reduced productivity and morale to zero, because instilling fear trumped doing the job. Got me to a nervous breakdown just shy of my 24th birthday.

Anonymous said...

This what happens when the Home Secretary is an inhuman poison dwarf with the Biggest Arse In The World. Logically, a tory.

Nigel Stapley said...

Not just 'probably', she has got away with it, and Johnson's advisor on the 'ministerial code' has resigned in protest:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-55016076

If J*mm* S*vi*e had been a minister in this régime, Johnson would have backed him as well, as would all those gobshite backbenchers.

Anonymous said...

Classic bully profile:
1. Kicks down at those below, particularly the powerless and voiceless.
2. Kisses up to those above, especially those who can influence her career.
3. Rolls out an assortment of those above as dubious character references.

It's like Arsene Wenger who never saw the "bad tackle".

Anonymous said...

Patel has insured her position by putting her tory colleagues into the Black Sleep of the Kali Ma!

Anonymous said...

"There is no evidence that she was aware of the impact of her behaviour"
aka The Psychopath Clause.

Anonymous said...

I quite enjoyed Marina Hyde's take:

'Meanwhile calls for tougher sentencing are growing, after a repeat offender was let off with a warning despite having been found guilty of another serious breach. The case will add to a sense that the UK is a “soft touch” country where recidivists are not simply allowed but effectively encouraged. In a move likely to cause outrage, activist do-gooders further insisted that an offence being possibly “unintentional” means it didn’t count. The implications of that remark for the wider justice system are “catastrophic and a scandal”, says whichever rentaquote Conservative backbencher answers the phone first.'

Anonymous said...

Said it before say it again ... six or eight years ago I was told by a House of Commons staffer that Patel was frequently chastised by Tory seniors for the way she balled and howled at her staff team in the HOC corridors. Another person totally unrelated who works in Whitehall told me that Patel has a reputation as a bully across various departments she has served. That was two years ago. What I seriously cannot understand is why other people do not come forward (not least other ex and current MPs who must surely have witnessed her HOC behaviour). I hope this pudgy little pig gets her just deserts. I am sure that eventually she will be outed but ffs how long will it take and where is the justice?
Oh and while we’re at it does anyone else recall stories of her being podged by bunter one weekend at chequers four or five years back? In my mind that would account for his loyalty. I wonder if NutNuts knows?

Anonymous said...

"This what happens when the Home Secretary is an inhuman poison dwarf with the Biggest Arse In The World. Logically, a tory."

Sorree, the "Biggest Arse in the world" belongs to the former Shadow Home Secretary, the Abbopotamus.

grim northerner said...

her arse is disproportionally large for her head and upper torso, strategic positioning of her head and upper torso on social media or zoom calls disguises the size of her disproportionally large rear end to unsuspecting suitors. A tactic known as the "stealth whale" I believe. Diane Abbot"s arse is proportional to the rest of her.

Jonathan said...

It's turns out her ex Permanent Secretary who is dragging Pritti Vacant to an employment tribunal sometime next year was never interviewed by the Cabinet Office for the report....mmmmm bit fishy that!

Sir Phillip Rutman's lawyers now have a smoking gun that nails Patel to the floor and adds quite a few zeros to Rutman's compo and their fees...

Will the Home Office fold and offer Rutman a Kings Ransom in return for his silence or will Rutman reject and go to Tribunal?

Either way he's smiling, he's nailed the Home Office defence and drove a coach and horses through it..

Le Petomane said...

Drove into work at 4am this morning listening to R5, with loonies spouting that the investigation was run by snowflakes and remainers out to derail Brexit, that workers need to be shouted at when they fail to do what is demanded of them, and that employees respect a strong boss who is firm but fair. One was an employer and the others appeared to be retired, but when it was pointed out that army sergeants are not generally permitted to scream abuse at squaddies you would believe it was the end of western civilisation.
Love listening to phone ins...

Anonymous said...

Listening to phone-ins leaves me praying for either an asteroid to strike Earth or for Covid-19 to mutate into something 100% fatal with an R of about 100.

Anonymous said...

This debate about Patel's Very Large Arse....

It'd help matters if she stopped talking through it. With a speaking tone uncannily similar to David Milliband's.

Also, while we're on this anatomy gig...Patel should do something about her personality - it's colder than a witch's tit. Yeuk.