Badenoch 'traumatised' and bullied' senior staff

Kemi Badenoch, the frontrunner to be the next Conservative party leader, has been accused of creating an intimidating atmosphere in thegovernment department she used to run, with some colleagues describing it as toxic, the Guardian can reveal.

- Pippa Crerar

At least three officials found her behaviour so traumatising that they felt they had no other choice but to leave, sources claimed.

Morale was said to be so low in the Department for Business and Trade last year that senior officials thought it necessary to address concerns about the working culture during an official "town hall" meeting. This was attended by about 70 staff in person and online on 13 December 2023.

Sources alleged that at least three senior officials in Badenoch's private office felt in effect pushed out by what they claimed was "bullying and traumatising" behaviour by Badenoch during the 17 months she ran the department before the election.

Badenoch has flatly denied behaving in that way. Others who worked closely with the former business secretary, who is the bookmakers' favourite to succeed Rishi Sunak, have told the Guardian they struggled with her behaviour and the atmosphere it created.

They were said to have "dreaded" meetings, as they claimed individuals were regularly left feeling humiliated by Badenoch and reduced to tears afterwards on a handful of occasions.

One departmental insider said it was normal for people to "lose their rag sometimes", but claimed Badenoch's treatment could often come across as "sustained and personal".

A spokesperson for Badenoch said the claims were "completely false and a flagrant smear". They confirmed that the business secretary "had to let go of" some senior officials and suggested she had found examples of "underperformance, complaints and bad behaviour" within her department. They added that she had "high standards and expectations".

During Badenoch's time as business secretary, other ministers in the department are understood to have "checked in" on the wellbeing of staff, while officials tried to ensure that colleagues who had allegedly been "targeted" by Badenoch were not left alone with her in case she upset them.