Officials from the Department of Health have “raised concerns” about Steve Barclay’s alleged conduct towards civil servants, the Guardian has been told.
Sources said the civil servants had informally complained to Chris Wormald, the department’s permanent secretary, about the way they believe they and colleagues have been treated by the health secretary.
They said senior civil servants in the department had privately referred to “bullying” and other “bad behaviour” by Barclay towards his staff since he joined the Whitehall department in July last year. The alleged conduct is denied by Barclay’s allies.
The department said it had not received any formal complaints over the behaviour of its ministers, but did not deny being alerted to concerns informally in the way sources described.
The raising of allegations at such a senior level points to another example of the deterioration in relations between ministers and civil servants in Whitehall.
The concerns over Barclay pre-date the publication of the Tolley report into the conduct of Dominic Raab, which found last week that he had bullied civil servants. Raab resigned as deputy prime minister and justice secretary.
One source said there were “a lot of unhappy people at the Department of Health just now”, in part as a result of Barclay’s behaviour. Another said officials in his private office had “borne the brunt” of his behaviour. “Everyone finds him quite challenging,” said a third source.
Two other Whitehall sources alleged that he had regularly “blasted” staff in full view of others in the office. One of these insiders said he was “constantly angry”, which was “very difficult” for officials, who now “don’t want to have meetings with him”. Another source claimed that there were occasions were he “deliberately ignored” staff who tried to talk to him.
A separate source added: “Barclay’s style is very macho … He would say that he’s forensic. But in reality he’s a micro-manager. He hauls people over the coals and is generally a bit unpleasant.”
An ally of Barclay denied the allegations over his conduct, saying: “These allegations are totally untrue. No complaint has been made about Steve at DHSC or any other department.” One official, who had worked with Barclay previously, claimed that while he was tough to work for, he wasn’t unreasonably so.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “The department has not received any formal complaints relating to the behaviour of its ministers. Any complaints relating to ministers or members of staff would be investigated in line with departmental guidance.”
When Raab was forced to resign last week, he launched an angry tirade against “activist” civil servants, claiming that the report established a “dangerous precedent” by setting a low threshold for bullying.
Senior civil servants have shared concerns that officials may be deterred from putting in complaints about poor behaviour as a result, amid fears of stoking an already tense relationship.
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The former head of the UK civil service, Bob Kerslake, has called on Rishi Sunak to speak out against the “torrent of invective against the civil service” unleashed by Raab or risk a toxic environment in Whitehall.
Some civil servants have expressed unease at the way bullying allegations are dealt with. The Guardian revealed last week that Downing Street had been urged to set up a new independent body to assess such claims.
A union official pointed to the establishment in parliament of an independent complaints and grievance scheme in 2018, after claims of harassment and bullying against MPs.
Other cabinet ministers have also faced allegations of bullying civil servants in recent years, including the former home secretary Priti Patel, who was found to have bullied officials. However, Boris Johnson, then prime minister and arbiter of the ministerial code, took no action. His ethics adviser quit as a result.
Gavin Williamson, a close ally of Sunak, resigned last November as a Cabinet Office minister after the Guardian revealed claims that he told a senior civil servant to “slit your throat” while he was defence secretary.
His fate appeared to be sealed after further bullying allegations emerged from his former deputy chief whip, who criticised his “unethical and immoral” behaviour and claimed he used “leverage” and threats to control MPs and instil a culture of fear in Westminster.
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