Summary

  • Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has taken questions from MPs in place of Rishi Sunak at Prime Minister's Questions

  • Raab was up against Labour's Angela Rayner, who was standing in for Keir Starmer

  • Earlier this morning, he asked the PM to launch an investigation into two formal complaints about his behaviour in previous cabinet jobs

  • It follows claims in the Guardian that Raab bullied officials and created a "culture of fear" - he denies these allegations

  • Raab told MPs he is confident he has behaved professionally, and it is right that he be investigated

  • Sunak - who has been in Bali for the G20 summit of world leaders - has repeatedly declined to say whether he had informal warnings about Raab's behaviour before appointing him

  1. UK stands with Poland after missile hit - Raabpublished at 12:02 Greenwich Mean Time 16 November 2022

    Dominic Raab says he is responding to questions on behalf of PM Sunak who is in Bali.

    Referring to the missile that hit Polish territory yesterday he says the UK stands in solidarity with Poland and is working with allies to find out what happened.

    As we've just been hearing from Nato, it's likely that Ukrainian air defence systems caused the blast on Polish territory which killed two people.

    It happened amid a wave of Russian missile attacks targeting Ukraine.

  2. Raab on his feet for PMQspublished at 12:00 Greenwich Mean Time 16 November 2022

    raab

    Dominic Raab, the deputy PM, is on his feet and at the despatch box as Prime Minister's Questions get started.

  3. Chamber filling up with MPspublished at 12:00 Greenwich Mean Time 16 November 2022

    Ione Wells
    Political correspondent

    The chamber is filling up for PMQs - except this time it’s deputy PM vs. deputy Labour leader.

    The day before the Autumn budget - which is set to outline tax rises and public spending cuts - would usually have a large economic focus.

    But this time it’s likely it will be the deputy PM Dominic Raab himself under the microscope for scrutiny over bullying complaints about him — allegations he has denied and asked for a formal investigation into.

    It’ll be interesting to see how much support, or not, he gets from his fellow Tory MPs on the backbenches.

  4. PMQs due to start shortlypublished at 11:57 Greenwich Mean Time 16 November 2022

    Prime Minister's Questions will get under way in the House of Commons in a few minutes, with Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab filling in for PM Rishi Sunak, who is on his way back from the G20 summit in Bali.

    Raab will face questions from Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner. Stay with us for live updates.

  5. Labour's Rayner back at the despatch boxpublished at 11:52 Greenwich Mean Time 16 November 2022

    Ione Wells
    Political correspondent

    As is customary when the deputy prime minister subs in for the PM, the opposition do the same.

    That means Angela Rayner will be stepping in for Sir Keir Starmer too.

    She is the frontbencher for Labour who is largely responsible for comments or attack lines regarding ethics of government ministers.

    So allegations about Dominic Raab's behaviour are her stomping ground.

    It's likely this will be a focus of her attack lines directed at him.

    The last time the two faced each other had a fair amount of tongue-in-cheek knockabout and wit thrown in.

    It's unlikely Raab will go there this time if he is the focus of attack lines.

  6. What has Sunak said about Raab bullying claims?published at 11:51 Greenwich Mean Time 16 November 2022

    Media caption,

    Was Rishi Sunak aware of Dominic Raab complaints?

    Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who has been in Bali for the G20 summit this week, has repeatedly declined to say whether he had informal warnings about Dominic Raab's behaviour before appointing him.

    In an interview with the BBC's Chris Mason yesterday, he insisted he was not aware of any formal complaints against this deputy prime minister.

    "I've been very clear that I don't recognise the characterisation of Dominic's behaviour," he added.

    But today, Sunak agreed with a request by Raab for an independent inquiry into two formal complaints made about the deputy PM's behaviour during previous stints as a cabinet minister.

    In his response to Raab's letter, Sunak says: "I know that you will be keen to address the complaints made against you and agree that proceeding in this way is the right course of action. Integrity, professionalism and accountability are core values of this Government."

  7. Raab facing tricky PMQspublished at 11:45 Greenwich Mean Time 16 November 2022

    Ione Wells
    Political correspondent

    This is awkward timing for Dominic Raab to stand in for Rishi Sunak at Prime Minister's Questions.

    Hours before he was due to stand up and face MPs, he revealed two formal complaints had been made about his behaviour and asked the prime minister to launch a formal investigation.

    Those close to him claim these complaints have just been made.

    He may hope that by asking for the investigation himself he gets ahead of some of the potential attacks the opposition will likely serve him - and it suggests confidence he can clear his name.

    But there are still lots of unknowns: who will conduct the investigation? Who were the complaints made to? And were they about specific incidents or general complaints about his behaviour?

    I'm told even Raab doesn't know the answer to the latter yet.

    These unknowns show he certainly still has lots to answer - which opposition parties will be aware of.

  8. Raab faces two complaints over behaviourpublished at 11:35 Greenwich Mean Time 16 November 2022

    As we've said - Deputy PM Dominic Raab will be standing in for Rishi Sunak at Prime Minister's Questions at midday, because the PM is in Indonesia for the G20 summit.

    Labour's Deputy leader Angela Rayner will stand in for Keir Starmer.

    Raab was already in the spotlight after days of questions about his conduct towards civil servants in his previous stints as foreign secretary and justice secretary – he has denied the claims.

    No doubt he would have already been braced for questions about this.

    But by now calling on Sunak to launch an investigation into two formal complaints about his behaviour and saying he had "never tolerated bullying", Raab may be hoping to fend off hostile questions by saying an independent inquiry process is already under way.

    Read more here.

  9. Welcome alongpublished at 11:28 Greenwich Mean Time 16 November 2022

    Hello and welcome to our politics live page - Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab will face a grilling from MPs shortly as he stands in for Rishi Sunak at Prime Minister's Questions.

    A short time ago, Raab revealed that two formal complaints have been made about his behaviour during previous stints as a cabinet minister - expect him to be asked about that, as well as other pressing issues such as the soaring cost of living.

    Watch along live by pressing play at the top of the page.