Top civil servants whine that Priti Patel sends them emails 'in the middle of the night', dresses them down in front of colleagues and asks 'Why is everyone so f***ing useless'

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Priti Patel today faced fresh accusations of bullying during her ministerial career amid claims she 'dressed down' staff in front of their colleagues and asked: 'Why is everyone so f***ing useless?' 

Ms Patel has faced accusations of belittling civil servants and creating an 'atmosphere of fear' at the Home Office. 

But claims have now been made relating to her time as international development secretary and when she was a minister at the Department for Work and Pensions -including that she sent 'aggressive' emails in the 'middle of the night'. 

Allies of the Home Secretary dismissed the allegations as 'malicious gossip'. 

The latest claims came after it emerged that Ms Patel had tried to oust the permanent secretary at the Home Office, Sir Philip Rutnam, after they clashed. 

But Sir Philip was today facing a growing backlash as he was accused of overseeing a 'culture of politicised leaks' at the department. 

It was also claimed that the top mandarin had failed to take 'any responsibility or face any consequence for the Windrush scandal' despite being paid 'more than the prime minister'. 

Priti Patel, pictured in Downing Street on February 19, has faced accusations of bullying. Her allies have denied the claims

Sir Philip Rutnam (pictured left) is said to have raised concerns about Ms Patel's treatment of staff with the Cabinet Office. The Home Secretary reportedly pushed Sir Mark Sedwill (pictured right) to get rid of Sir Philip

A number of ex-ministers and officials today made fresh claims about Ms Patel in comments published by The Times. 

The allegations span the last five years and the newspaper said that concerns had been raised with Number 10 in 2017 about Ms Patel's behaviour when she was aid secretary. 

Former ministers claimed there was a 'pattern' of unacceptable behaviour. 

An ex-minister said of the allegations relating to Ms Patel's time at the Home Office:  'Is it a one-off? No it bloody isn't. It's her.' 

The former minister claimed Ms Patel would 'deliberately dress officials down in front of their colleagues' during team meetings. 

They also claimed that 'aggressive emails' would be sent by Ms Patel, 'sometimes... in the middle of the night'. 

Meanwhile, a former official said of Ms Patel's time at the Department for International Development: 'She would come out [of] office and say, "Why is everyone so f***ing useless".'  

Allies of Ms Patel emphatically rejected the claims and labelled them 'malicious gossip'. 

It came amid a backlash against Sir Philip who Ms Patel reportedly had asked Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill to get rid of. 

Sir Philip was in post at the Home Office during the Windrush scandal and faced calls to resign over the department's handling of the crisis. 

One former Home Office insider told Politico that Sir Philip was 'nowhere to be seen' during the scandal.

'Then, just like now, he oversaw a culture of politicised leaks and egotistical briefing from the department and has managed to avoid taking any responsibility or face any consequence for the Windrush scandal, instead staying in the role he gets paid more than the prime minister for, and throwing his deputy and others under the bus,' they said. 

Sir Philip told the Home Affairs Select Committee in November 2018 that he felt 'personal responsibility for everything that happens in the Department'. 

He also said he felt 'personal responsibility for the fact that we did not spot the Windrush events sooner'. 

However, he said that was 'not the same, though, as saying that I am responsible in the sense that I should have done something in real time to prevent it'.

Asked today to comment on the claims made against Sir Philip, the Home Office referred back to the statement it issued yesterday in response to the claims made against Ms Patel and said it would not be commenting any further.

A Home Office spokesman said: 'We have not received any formal complaints and we take the welfare of our staff extremely seriously.'

New claims made against Ms Patel relate to her time at the Department for International Development and Department for Work and Pensions. Ms Patel is pictured with Boris Johnson in December last year

Nadhim Zahawi, the Business minister, dismissed the bullying claims made against Ms Patel, saying the Home Secretary is 'utterly professional' 

It came after it emerged that Ms Patel fell out with Home Office officials after she accused them of dragging their feet over tougher action against eco-warrriors.

The Home Secretary wanted them to look into ways to change police powers to stop protesters bringing cities to a standstill, a government source said.

But she felt they were raising objections to reforms which could have helped the police tackle organisations such as Extinction Rebellion. 

Allies of Ms Patel have rejected the bullying claims made against her. 

Business minister Nadhim Zahawi said yesterday: 'I've known Priti for 25 years, she's utterly professional, works night and day to deliver for the country and her constituents and is absolutely focused on making sure... the people voted for us to take back control of our borders.'  

Pushed on whether he believed Ms Patel is a bully, Mr Zahawi said: 'No, I don't think she is at all.

'I've worked with Priti in the past on several campaigns, I've known her literally for 25 years, she is a brilliant, collegiate team player.' 

An ally of Ms Patel told The Times: 'The Home Office is dysfunctional and the current permanent secretary had presided over a sacking of a home secretary (Amber Rudd) and accidental deportations.

'If this were any other environment Philip Rutnam would not only be sacked he'd be denied a pension.'

But a Home Office source told the newspaper: 'Sir Philip and [Ms Patel] have fundamental disagreements about the rule of law. He's committed and she isn't.

'She's belittled him and caused consternation, and she frequently encourages behaviour outside the rule of law.'

It was claimed that bubbling tensions came to a head last week when a senior official collapsed after a meeting with Ms Patel following an all-night effort to reverse a High Court ruling barring the deportation of 25 foreign criminals to Jamaica.

At a meeting the following morning he was allegedly confronted by the Home Secretary, who demanded to know why the department had failed to reverse the ruling.

He reportedly fell ill later during another meeting and was taken to hospital, where he was found to have a sodium deficiency.       

Home Office was branded 'institutionally racist' in report into Windrush scandal – but the wording 'was watered down before publication'

A report which concluded that the Home Office was 'institutionally racist' over its 'hostile environment' immigration policy has been watered down, it was revealed last night.

The review into the Government's policy towards migrants has seen the claim edited out of the final draft.

It was commissioned in 2018 after Caribbean migrants were detained or deported despite having the right to remain in Britain.

The report was expected to be published at the end of March last year but has been subject to delay.

Sources told The Times that the phrase 'institutionally racist' was included in an early draft of the report but no longer appears in more recent versions.

The Empire Windrush was most famous for trips form the West Indies which brought people to work in the UK

It comes as the Home Secretary Priti Patel, tried to move her most senior civil servant in the Home Office, permanent secretary Sir Philip Rutman, following ‘genuine disagreements’ between the pair, it emerged yesterday

Previous leaked versions found that the department was 'reckless' and had a 'defensive culture' over immigration policy, according to the paper.

Last week, leaks from an early version of the report emerged during a row over the deportation of criminals to Jamaica.

It said that the Government should consider ending the removal of 'foreign-born offenders' who had come to Britain as children.

The Windrush Review is being led by Wendy Williams, the inspector of constabulary. Government sources said that it was right that she be given time to complete her work.

It comes after it emerged Home Secretary Priti Patel, tried to move her most senior civil servant in the Home Office, permanent secretary Sir Philip Rutman, following ‘genuine disagreements’ between the pair.

But sources denied claims that she had ‘bullied and belittled’ officials, or that she had made unreasonable demands or created an ‘atmosphere of fear’. 

And the Home Office said ‘no formal complaints’ had been made.

The report has been seen by some officials, but sources stressed that it has not yet been seen by ministers.

It was revealed that there are concerns in Whitehall that the members of the panel which helped to write the review could publicly criticise the Government if the report is changed significantly.

It is currently going through the process of 'Maxwellisation' - the principle under which a report is shown to ministers and officials it is critical of and they are given the chance to respond.

Labour MP David Lammy, who has campaigned on the Windrush scandal, said it had resulted in the 'systematic deportation and detention of black citizens by the Home Office'.

Labour MP David Lammy, who has campaigned on the Windrush scandal, said it had resulted in the 'systematic deportation and detention of black citizens by the Home Office'

He added: 'The victim's nationality and rights were denied because of the colour of their skin. If that is not institutionally racist, I have no idea what is.

'It would be an outrage and insult to the Windrush generation for Wendy Williams's independent review to be watered down for political reasons.

'The truth must be published in full.' The fallout from the Windrush scandal led to the resignation of Home Secretary Amber Rudd.

The Government came under intense criticism over the 'hostile environment' policy championed by then Prime Minister Theresa May.

The term 'institutional racism' was famously used in February 1999 to describe Scotland Yard and its response to the murder of the black teenager Stephen Lawrence.

The official review, by Sir William Macpherson, defined the term as 'discriminating through unwitting prejudice, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping'.

A Home Office spokesman said: 'This is an independent review being led by Wendy Williams.

'She has not yet submitted the final report to the Home Office.

'Once we have received it, we will publish it as soon as paracticable. Ministers have not seen any version of the report.'