British Prime Minister Boris Johnson came out in resounding support of UK Home Secretary Priti Patel, beleaguered by a string of bullying allegations, in Parliament on Wednesday, a day after she expressed her "regret" over the recent resignation of the top civil servant in her ministry.
Addressing his weekly Prime Minister's Questions session in the House of Commons, Johnson reiterated his previous backing to say Patel was doing an outstanding job and that he will be sticking by the Indian-origin minister, who was sitting right next to him in the Commons as a senior Cabinet member.
"The Home Secretary is doing an outstanding job delivering change, putting police out on the street, cutting crime and delivering a new immigration system and I'm sticking by her," he said in response to a question over the controversy by Opposition Labour MP Matthew Pennycook.
The Labour Party repeated its call for a wider independent inquiry into the allegations against Patel, who has said that she values the work of all her aides in the UK Home Office.
Meanwhile, fresh allegations of bullying have allegedly surfaced from another ministry from Patel's time as Secretary of State in the Department for International Development (DfID) between 2016 and 2017.
The BBC said it has learnt of the complaint by a senior official from DfID of civil servants being humiliated, similar to complaints emerging from the Home Office in the last few days.
Patel has denied all allegations of bullying and has sought to move on from the controversy.
In her first response to the controversy surrounding Sir Philip Rutnam's shock exit as Permanent Secretary in the Home Office over the weekend amid allegations of bullying, the 47-year-old minister addressed Home Office staff in an email on Tuesday to stress that she "deeply cared" about the well being of civil servants and called on her team to come together.
"We both regret Sir Philip's decision to resign. We both deeply value the work that every person in this department does and care about the wellbeing of all our staff," Patel said in the internal email, jointly written with Rutnam's successor Shona Dunn, who is Acting Permanent Secretary.
"It is therefore a time for us all to come together as one team. We also recognise the importance of candour, confidentiality and courtesy in building trust and confidence between ministers and civil servants. Both of us are fully committed to making sure the professionalism you would expect to support this is upheld," read the email, quoted by the BBC.
Patel sought to focus on delivering the government's priorities, including implementing a new points-based immigration system, and called on the Home Office team to help deliver that agenda.
The email added: "We have one of the most important jobs to do, keeping people safe and our country secure and delivering on the government's priorities, which were endorsed by the British people at the recent general election.
"Our work continues, and our focus must be on working, in partnership with you, to deliver this agenda as the public would expect."
The email follows days of controversy surrounding the minister's conduct, including fresh allegations of bullying while she was an employment minister in 2015.
The UK Cabinet Office has launched an inquiry to "establish the facts" but the Opposition has mounted pressure on the government to widen the scope of the inquiry and also demanded Patel's resignation.
Rutnam had resigned with an explosive television statement about a "vicious" campaign against him and also made references to Patel allegedly "shouting, swearing and belittling people" in her department. He has declared that he plans to take the government to court for his unfair dismissal.
Over the course of the controversy, Patel has received the backing of Prime Minister Johnson, who described her as a "fantastic Home Secretary", who is doing one of the toughest jobs in the country.
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