RISHI Sunak has been accused of “dither and delay” after failing to make a decision about whether to sack deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab over alleged bullying.

The PM received the long-awaited report into Mr Raab’s conduct by Adam Tolley KC around 1130am, and had promised to consider the findings “swiftly”.

However, amid reports that Mr Raab has refused to resign as he does not believe he has broken the ministerial code, Mr Sunak has yet to decide whether to sack him.

It is understood a decision will not be made until Friday at the earliest.

Mr Sunak, who said he would bring “integrity and accountability” to No10 after replacing Liz Truss, said he had “full confidence in his close ally before receiving the report. 

Mr Raab, who is also the justice secretary, was one of Mr Sunak’s most loyal supporters for the Tory leadership last year, and his exit would be a huge blow to the PM.

If Mr Sunak ruled Mr Raab did not break the ministerial code, the worst outcome for both men would be if the details of his conduct created such a stink, that Mr Raab ended up going regardless, undermining Mr Sunak’s authority and reputation. 

Mr Raab was investigated over eight formal complaints about his behaviour as foreign secretary, Brexit secretary and during the first of his two stints as Justice Secretary.

He has always denied bullying staff and maintained he “behaved professionally”, while accepting he has a forthright manner.

Ahead of the report being sent to No10, officials briefed the media that the five-month probe’s findings made “grim” reading for Mr Raab, and that he was “toast”.

However ITV Political Editor Robert Peston said that after reading the report himself, Mr Raab concluded it did not show he breached the ministerial code, and he would not quit.

Downing Street said Mr Sunak was “carefully considering the findings of the report before coming to a judgment”.

Liberal Democrat chief whip Wendy Chamberlain said: “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.

“People are crying out for a Government that will just get on with tackling the issues that matter, not focused on saving their own skin.”

Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said: “While the prime minister dithers and delays, trying to summon up the guts to sack his own deputy, working people are battling the worst cost of living crisis for a generation.”

The Prime Minister is the ultimate arbiter of the ministerial code, although he could consult his ethics tsar Sir Laurie Magnus before delivering his verdict on Mr Raab.

Sir Laurie had not been appointed as the independent adviser on ministers’ interests when the investigation into Mr Raab was launched in November.

The Financial Times reported one person involved in the process calling the review of Mr Raab’s conduct “devastating”.

The Guardian also said senior Ministry of Justice officials could quit if Mr Raab was cleared.

A decision not to punish him would be “demoralising” for staff, source told the paper.

Mr Raab has insisted he believes “heart and soul” that he is not a bully and defended his “forthright” approach to his work. The minister funded his own legal team to defend against the allegations, it emerged on Wednesday.

The declaration in the heavily delayed register of ministerial interests came despite taxpayers footing an estimated £222,000 bill for former prime minister Boris Johnson’s legal fees in the partygate inquiry into whether he lied to MPs.

In the register, Mr Raab’s entry notes read: “The minister has engaged lawyers at his own expense in relation to the investigation being conducted by Adam Tolley KC.”

Mr Raab remained at work on Thursday, responding to Crown Prosecution Service statistics on rape cases.