The Liberal Democrats have responded to the news that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak won't announce his decision on Raab today.

Liberal Democrat chief whip Wendy Chamberlain says: “People will be fed up with this dither and delay from Rishi Sunak.

"It feels like almost every week there is an issue with sleaze and scandal where Rishi Sunak is either implicated in himself or too weak to get to grips with it."

Chris Mason
Political editor

We're in limbo. Westminster waits.

Whitehall expected a decision today. Senior figures had been briefed it would happen. Preparations for Dominic Raab leaving government were under way.

And now this.

Those representing the complainants are livid: many of them are in the ministry of justice, watching rolling news, knowing the deputy prime minister knows who they are.

And, for now, he is still in post.

The waiting goes on. The pressure on the prime minister is huge.

Chris Mason
Political editor

Rishi Sunak won't announce his decision on the future of Dominic Raab today, the BBC understands.

Rishi Sunak's press team won't say if the PM has spoken to Dominic Raab since receiving the report into his alleged bullying behaviour.

Asked if the pair had spoken, a No 10 spokesman said only: "I'm not going to get into private conversations while the process is ongoing."

Instead Sunak "continues to consider the findings of the report," he told reporters.

The spokesman added that Raab currently remains in post and the PM still has confidence in him.

Nick Eardley
Chief political correspondent

Rishi Sunak has had the report for several hours now.

Remember when he sacked Nadhim Zahawi, he acted very quickly. In that case, the breach of the ministerial code was clear, according to the adviser on ministerial interests.

But the investigation into Dominic Raab took five months. That suggests it's not been straightforward.

It also involved a lot of people - some accusing Raab of bullying and some saying he wasn't a bully.

Is this proving to be a difficult call for the PM? No 10 wouldn't say this afternoon, in a briefing at Downing Street.

All they'd say is that the PM continues to consider the report.

Back in November, Rishi Sunak told the BBC’s political editor Chris Mason that he "was not and am not aware of any formal complaints about Dominic's behaviour".

But the PM repeatedly declined to say whether he was given informal warnings about Raab's conduct, which you can watch in the clip below.

Pushed on this again and again, Sunak insisted that he didn't “recognise the characterisation of Dominic's behaviour personally".

Sam Hancock
Live reporter

If you're just joining us, we're still waiting for the prime minister's decision on the political future of his deputy Dominic Raab.

While that's in the works, let's remind ourselves of what we know so far.

PM Rishi Sunak has received a much-anticipated report into allegations of bullying by Raab.

He continues to have "full confidence" in Raab as he "carefully considers" Adam Tolley KC's findings, reporters were told by Downing Street earlier.

Sunak's official spokesman did not say when the report would be published, but did say what the PM reads and what is released to the public would be the same.

He also insisted the situation would be resolved "as swiftly as possible", but that people would understand "it’s right [for Sunak] to carefully consider this".

A little earlier we heard from the general secretary of the FDA - a union which represents people who work in public service - on Radio 4's World at One, talking about the bullying allegations against Dominic Raab.

Dave Penman said the prime minister is "the sole arbiter of the ministerial code" and the outcome of the report is "entirely" in his hands.

"As a result it's really difficult" to know what may happen in this case, he told our radio colleagues.

But Penman added that the number of cases against Raab - which is eight - are "significant".

Earlier today, Labour MP Liz Kendall passed judgement on PM Rishi Sunak's stance during the inquiry into bullying allegations made against his deputy Dominic Raab.

As we know, Raab has repeatedly denied the allegations, made in eight formal complaints by at least 24 people.

"Why has it taken five months, why hasn't [Raab] been suspended in the meanwhile?" Kendall asked ITV reporters live on air. "These are serious allegations," she added.

The investigation conducted by senior lawyer Adam Tolley KC began in November, almost 150 days ago. And Sunak is now reviewing the findings.

When asked if he was a bully back in February, Dominic Raab told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg “no”, saying he was confident he'd always “behaved professionally”.

In another interview that same month, he told Sky News that “if an allegation of bullying is upheld, I would resign".

Throughout the inquiry, which started five months ago, Raab has insisted his behaviour didn't cross a line.

Sima Kotecha
UK editor, Newsnight

There's a real sense of trepidation among some civil servants.

I understand that some at a senior level are considering resigning if Raab is not gone by the end of the week.

However, there are others who are adamant that Dominic Raab is a good man, that he is just assertive and has a dominating style of leadership.

But what I can say is that civil servants who have worked alongside him, some of those that I've been speaking to in recent weeks, say that what happens could dictate their next steps.

They could make a decision about whether they want to continue working close to him, or even consider moving departments.

Civil servants are the backbone of the government, these are the people that make government happen.

We know there's been some strike action, there's been talk of further strike action.

The government won't want to ruffle any more feathers at this point, but they'll be watching closely how these civil servants react when news comes to light.

Back to those interviews in March, which we reported on a little earlier, our political correspondent Ione Wells also spoke to someone who advised Dominic Raab in a senior role in one department.

Remember: all the people Ione spoke to asked to remain anonymous, to avoid compromising their jobs.

"I didn't personally feel bullied. I did observe though what I would characterise as bullying behaviour," this person said of Raab. "There is no question in my mind about that."

Raab "expected high standards of people" but claimed he was "pretty belittling in terms of how he would go about those things," they told Ione.

"And he would frequently humiliate members of his private office and/or others that are working with him," they said, adding:

Image source, PA Media

The allegations made are for the periods Dominic Raab was working as Brexit secretary under Theresa May, and as justice secretary and then foreign secretary under Boris Johnson.

He faces one complaint for his behaviour while he was foreign secretary.

BBC News has previously heard that other people who allegedly planned to file complaints against Raab said they wouldn’t as they may be identified to Raab as part of Adam Tolley KC's investigation.

Raab has previously said he would resign if complaints into bullying allegations were upheld.

Last month we reported that the investigation was into eight formal complaints against Raab, involving at least 24 people.

Sam Hancock
Live reporter

It's coming up for 2pm here in London and the flurry of information we were getting about this a couple of hours ago has settled a bit.

It seemed like we were close to hearing whether Dominic Raab would keep his job or be ousted from government.

But there's been no announcement yet.

What we know, for sure, is that PM Rishi Sunak has received the independent report by senior lawyer Adam Tolley KC and is considering its findings. That's what his official spokesperson has said.

We've also been told that the public will see the exact same report that Sunak sees.

So for now, we continue to wait. Rest assured, though, we'll let you know as soon as we've heard anything.

In March, our political correspondent Ione Wells spoke to people who've worked with Dominic Raab - they asked to remain anonymous to avoid compromising their jobs.

Let's remember some of what was said during those interviews.

A former parliamentary colleague said Raab was not a bully, but that reports about his behaviour resonated with what they had seen first hand.

"There were a handful of occasions where I observed him make a member of staff cry, because he was not happy with their work," they said. "That was probably one of the things that I found most uncomfortable."

Less than a month ago, Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner attacked Dominic Raab in the House of Commons, accusing the deputy PM of knowing “first-hand the misery caused by thugs and their intimidating behaviour".

"Lurking with menace, exploding in fits of rage, creating a culture of fear and maybe even, I don’t know, throwing things," she said during a fiery Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) in which Rayner and Raab stood in for their respective leaders.

“Does he think more bullies will be brought to justice?” she asked, in what was seen as a clear reference to the ongoing inquiry into Raab's alleged behaviour.

Damian Grammaticas
Political correspondent

The prime minister's official spokesperson has said that the report into allegations of bullying by the deputy PM Dominic Raab will be published in the form it is received by Rishi Sunak.

The independent lawyer Adam Tolley KC has completed the report and Sunak's now considering it.

Asked how much of it would be made public, Sunak's spokesman said "it will be in line with what we have seen before, so publishing what we have received".

It's understood that the identities of some of those who have given evidence may be protected in the published report, although Raab himself has been made aware of the names of those who have given evidence to the inquiry.

Dominic Raab has been in and out of government for some time now, let's take a step back and look at his political career.

Selection: He was first elected to Parliament in 2010 and became a junior minister following David Cameron’s election victory in 2015.

Brexit: Raab played a prominent role in the successful Leave campaign in the 2016 EU referendum, but was sacked by Theresa May when she took over as PM.

Cabinet: He was promoted to Brexit secretary in July 2018 after David Davis quit the role. But he also quit in November of the same year, arguing that he couldn’t support the Brexit "backstop" arrangement designed to avoid a hard border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland.

Image source, Getty Images

Making moves: When Boris Johnson succeeded May as PM, Raab was promoted to foreign secretary and first secretary of state - effectively making him deputy prime minister.

Controversy: As foreign secretary, Raab was heavily criticised for his handling of the aftermath of the fall of Afghanistan - specifically for remaining on holiday in Crete while the Taliban marched back to power. Johnson later demoted Raab to justice secretary.

Back on track: Raab threw his backing behind Rishi Sunak during the leadership race that followed Johnson’s departure. It came as no surprise that he wasn’t included in Liz Truss’s cabinet but he soon returned to government as deputy PM and justice secretary, under Sunak, where he currently remains.

Ione Wells
Political correspondent

There are conversations being had in government circles now about what will happen next if the deputy prime minister leaves his position.

Dominic Raab is justice secretary and deputy prime minister.

If he resigns, or is sacked, that would trigger a reshuffle of Rishi Sunak’s cabinet.

Some senior figures in government are bracing for this to be damning, and feel he might have no choice but to go.

But the ultimate decision lies with the prime minister, and no final decisions have been made just yet.

In 2020, Priti Patel was accused of bullying by staff at the Home Office, which led to the resignation of the Home Office permanent secretary Sir Philip Rutnam.

He lodged an unfair dismissal claim against her as a result.

A report detailed her behaviour towards those in the Home Office, but then prime minister Boris Johnson decided not to sack her over it. Instead, a settlement of £340,000 plus legal costs was paid by the taxpayer to Sir Philip.

Image source, Reuters

The episode also resulted in Johnson’s then adviser on standards, Sir Alex Allen, resigning over the PM’s decision.

Johnson’s decision at the time to not sack Patel was highly controversial, even eventually ending up with the High Court holding a judicial review into it. This was lost by the FDA union who brought it against the government.