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Dominic Raab ‘throws toys out of the pram’ after demotion, but gets Deputy Prime Minister sweetener

Britain's Dominic Raab - Alberto Pezzali/AP Photo
Britain's Dominic Raab - Alberto Pezzali/AP Photo

Dominic Raab was on Wednesday demoted from Foreign Secretary just weeks after facing criticism for remaining on holiday as Kabul fell to the Taliban.

He was removed from one of the great offices of state to become Justice Secretary, a more junior position in the Cabinet, but was awarded the new title Deputy Prime Minister to sweeten the downward move.

The 47-year-old MP held two crunch meetings with Boris Johnson before accepting his fate. Talks that started in the Prime Minister’s Commons office broke up and then re-commenced in Downing Street on Wednesday afternoon.

Mr Raab was accused of “throwing toys out of pram” about the switch, while allies claimed he had felt aggrieved at being blamed for missteps in the Foreign Office’s handling of the emergency airlift out of Afghanistan last month.

He attempted to put a brave face on the move as he left No 10, even winking at a reporter as he passed, but his smile was said to have fallen as he exited Downing Street.

A planned appearance at the 1922 Committee of backbench MPs on Wednesday evening was subsequently cancelled.

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Afghanistan prompted speculation

His demotion followed weeks of intense scrutiny and speculation about his future, after it emerged he had not spoken to his Afghan or Pakistani counterparts in the months leading up to the Taliban’s surge to power in Afghanistan.

He had faced vocal calls to resign over his failure to request assistance from the Afghan foreign minister to evacuate Afghan translators as the Islamist group surged towards Kabul last month.

While he has moved to the helm of a less prestigious department, his title as First Secretary of State has been upgraded to Deputy Prime Minister, a role last inhabited by Nick Clegg during the Coalition years.

It was his position as First Secretary that entailed him stepping in to lead the Government when Mr Johnson was rushed to intensive care with coronavirus last spring.

In many senses, Mr Raab is a natural fit at the Ministry of Justice, given his background as a government lawyer before becoming an MP, then his stint as a junior justice minister.

Dealing with the courts backlog

However, he inherits a challenging portfolio from Robert Buckland, who was sacked as Justice Secretary and returned to the Tory back benches.

Addressing the court backlogs that have built up during the pandemic, as well as dealing with pressing problems within Britain’s prison system, will be among his priorities.

The Ministry of Justice is likely to come under severe funding pressure in the comprehensive spending review this autumn, which will set the departmental budget for the next three years.

Justice is often seen as an unfashionable cause with voters, and the ministry faces a struggle to maintain or increase its budget while battling against funding demands from more popular quarters, such as education.

A leading figure in the Vote Leave campaign, the prominent Brexiteer previously quit Theresa May’s Cabinet over her Brexit stance. He mounted a Tory party leadership bid following her departure in 2017, but was knocked out in the second round.

Brought up in Buckinghamshire and educated at Dr Challoner's Grammar School in Amersham, he went on to read law at Oxford, then enrolled at Cambridge for a masters degree. He was a lawyer at the Foreign Office, before working for MPs David Davis and Dominic Grieve.

First elected as MP for Esher and Walton in 2010, he faced down tough competition from the Lib Dems at the last election.

A black belt in Karate, Mr Raab has previously sparked headlines with controversial comments about feminists, poverty and “taking the knee”. Mr Raab is married to former Google marketing executive Erika Rey and the couple have two children.

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