PRITI Patel is "entirely kind" and Boris Johnson did not "water down" a report into bullying allegations, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said.
An official enquiry into allegations over the Home Secretary's conduct found she broke the ministerial code of conduct due to her treatment of civil servants.
Sir Alex Allan, Whitehall’s independent adviser on ministerial standards, said Patel's conduct "on occasions has amounted to behaviour that can be described as bullying".
This includes shouting and swearing at officials in the course of their work.
But Boris Johnson is standing by Patel and on Saturday, Sir David Normington, a former Home Office permanent secretary, said the PM "doesn't seem willing to stand up for high standards in public life".
Downing Street has not denied claims that Johnson attempted to convince Allan to tone down his findings.
Speaking to Radio 4, Normington said: "The Prime Minister has simply put aside the findings of a report, and of the independent adviser Sir Alex Allan, that she is a bully and you shouldn't' have bullies in government."
Now Sunak has defended his colleague, calling her "entirely kind" and denying the claims over Johnson.
Appearing on The Adrew Marr Show today, Sunak was asked if someone in his team would keep their job if found to be "shouting and swearing" in the office.
He replied: "I don't think shouting is an effective way to get the best out of people but it is necessary to be direct sometimes to drive progress in an organisation, especially under stressful circumstances."
Sunak said the watering-down claim is "not what happened" and that Patel has "offered a full and unreserved apology" for her behaviour.
He went on: "I've worked closely with Priti and found her to be entirely kind and very focused and passionate about what she does."
Chancellor Rishi Sunak tells #Marr, Boris Johnson did not ask for an independent report on Priti Patel to be watered down
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) November 22, 2020
The review concluded the Home Secretary's behaviour towards civil servants could be "described as bullying"
https://t.co/RWd5olYKEl pic.twitter.com/uEs86A1YQZ
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