RISHI Sunak’s decision not to sack Dominic Raab over bullying shows his “continual weakness”, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

The Labour leader also criticised the Prime Minister for appointing Mr Raab to his government in the first place despite concerns about his conduct.

Mr Raab quit as deputy PM and Justice Secretary this morning after initially refusing to leave office after a five-month inquiry into bullying claims against him.

The report by Adam Tolley KC was sent to Mr Sunak yesterday morning, with the media told by No10 to expect a “swift” decision from the Prime Minister on Mr Raab’s fate.

However Mr Sunak failed to announce a decision yesterday, leading to opposition claims of “dither and delay” as the situation dragged on overnight.

Mr Raab finally resigned just before 10am, while attacking the process that forced him out.

In setting the threshold for buillying so low, this inquiry has set a dangerous precedent,” he said, warning it would “encourage spurious complaints against ministers”.

READ MORE: Dominic Raab quits as deputy PM with bitter attack on bullying inquiry

During a visit to Middlesbrough, the UK Labour leader told broadcasters: “What I think this shows is the continual weakness of the Prime Minister.

“Because there’s a double weakness here. He should never have appointed him in the first place, along with other members of the Cabinet that shouldn’t have been appointed, and then he didn’t sack him. 

“Even today, it’s Raab who resigned rather than the Prime Minister who acts.”

Sir Keir added: “I don’t know why Dominic Raab, in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, thinks that anybody wants to hear about his whining about having to resign.

“What I think everybody wants is strong leadership and that has been palpably absent here.”

SNP MP Kirsty Blackman added: "The Tories’ stand in Prime Minister had no choice but to go following the publication of this damning report. 

“In his resignation letter, Raab referred to the Tory manual on apologies and showed no sympathy towards his victims - pointing the finger at everyone else but himself.

"Bullying in any form is unacceptable, no matter how 'low the bar is' according to Dominc Raab.

"There are still huge questions for the Tories to answer about what Rishi Sunak knew about the allegations against Dominic Raab when he appointed him Deputy Prime Minister. If he knew his right-hand man was a bully, then he is also responsible for his behaviour - voters deserve to know. 

 "Sunak must ensure this culture cannot continue and make sure his chosen Deputy Prime Minister never returns to government."

Dave Penman, leader of the FDA union which represents senior Whitehall staff, said Mr Raab was “not just one bad apple” and called for a wider independent inquiry into ministerial bullying in the wake of the report.

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He said: “As Dominic Raab’s resignation letter makes clear, he was guilty of bullying civil servants and, therefore, had breached the Ministerial Code.

"His obviously reluctant tone and dismissal of the complaints says more about his conduct than any findings will.

"This resignation is not a vindication of the current system, it’s a damning indictment of the inadequacy of a process that relies solely on the Prime Minister of the day to enforce standards.

“The Prime Minister has serious questions to answer over what he knew when he appointed Raab as Deputy Prime Minister in October.

"The sad reality is that if he had appointed him to any other government department, his behaviour would, in all likelihood, still be going unchecked. 

“Given the scale of complaints against Dominic Raab and the evidence we have produced of a wider problem, the Prime Minister must now launch an independent inquiry into ministerial bullying, along the lines of the inquiry conducted by Dame Laura Cox KC commissioned under similar circumstances in Parliament.”