British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave his support to his Home Secretary Priti Patel on Friday, November 20, who apologized after being questioned for harassing his teams.
The Conservative leader said Ms. Patel, 48, had not violated the ministerial code of conduct, contrary to the findings of an independent investigation.
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"
The Prime Minister has full confidence in the Minister of the Interior and now considers this matter closed
", according to a government statement.
Priti Patel thanked the head of government for his support, saying in a statement regretting that his "
behavior in the past has affected people
".
“
It was never my intention to upset anyone,
” she added.
"
I am very keen to implement the commitments we have made to the people of this country and I recognize that I am direct and that I have sometimes been frustrated
."
The scandal erupted at the end of February with the resignation of the highest official of the Interior Ministry, Philip Rutnam.
The latter had accused Priti Patel in front of the cameras of being the source of “
vicious
”
leaks
in the press against him after he had expressed his concerns about his behavior.
According to staff accusations he relayed, the Home Office boss had "
shouted and cursed, denigrated people and made unreasonable and repeated demands
."
Priti Patel strongly denied.
An independent investigation, ordered by Boris Johnson, concluded that "
the behavior (of Priti Patel) contravened the ministerial code, even if it was not intentional
", and that it amounted to "
bullying
".
She acknowledges, however, that the Minister may have been "
frustrated
" by the lack of "
support
" or "
responsiveness
" she may have felt in her ministerial duties.
The survey has also seen improvements since.
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The author of the investigation, Alex Allan, independent advisor to the Prime Minister on ministerial ethics, resigned in the wake of the support given by the leader to his minister.
Priti Patel, who campaigned alongside Boris Johnson in favor of the UK's exit from the European Union, implemented at the end of January, had to leave the government of former Prime Minister Theresa May in 2017 to having conducted parallel diplomacy with Israel when she was in charge of International Development.