Gordon Brown's staff 'contacted National Bullying Helpline'

Published by Jon Land for 24dash.com in Central Government

The charity boss at the centre of the storm surrounding Gordon Brown's alleged bullying of staff admitted today being in contact with Tories over the claims.

Christine Pratt, founder of the National Bullying Helpline, told BBC Breakfast that she had received phone calls of support from Tory MPs but added that it was "irrelevant" in the context of her speaking out.

Yesterday she claimed that her charity's helpline received several calls from Downing Street staff. It came amid suggestions in a new book - strongly disputed by No 10 - that the Prime Minister had been warned over his behaviour.

Asked if the Conservative Party had been in contact with her over the allegations, she replied: "Yes. I have been in touch with them, they have been in contact with us but we are not a political charity, I'm not politically motivated."

She added: "We received a call of support from local MPs but that is irrelevant."

But questions remain over whether she was contacted by MPs before or after she went public with her comments.

Mrs Pratt has repeatedly had to defend herself against allegations of political bias and of breaching the trust of complainants since going public with her comments.

Speaking on GMTV, she said: "We haven't breached confidentiality and we wouldn't do that."

She added: "There is no political edge at all. We are a non-political organisation."

Mrs Pratt said she was motivated to speak out as a result of the statement of denial issued by Downing Street over the claims of bullying.

They stem from a book by Observer political commentator Andrew Rawnsley that includes accounts of Mr Brown pulling a secretary from her chair, "roughly shoving" an aide, and four-letter word rants that frightened staff.

In extracts published yesterday by the newspaper, Mr Rawnsley said Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell was so concerned that he delivered a "verbal warning" to the Prime Minister - a claim the Cabinet Office said was "completely untrue".

Mr Rawnsley said he was "100% sure", based on first-hand evidence, that Sir Gus had looked into Mr Brown's behaviour and personally warned him to calm down.

Downing Street denied the "malicious" allegations and Lord Mandelson said: "I don't think he so much bullies people as he is very demanding of people.

"There is a degree of impatience about the man but what would you like, some sort of shrinking violet at the helm of the Government when we are going through such stormy waters?"

Lord Mandelson said the Prime Minister could be emotional and demanding but was not a bully.

Mrs Pratt has accused ministers of failing staff by "going into denial" over the claims.

She said: "I saw the Lord Mandelson statement that had a categorical denial that bullying was going on in Gordon Brown's office. I saw red."

She alleges that the charity has received a number of calls and emails from concerned Downing Street staff, including one in recent months.

Downing Street retorted that it had not been contacted by the charity and insisted it had "rigorous, well-established procedures in place to allow any member of staff to address any concerns over inappropriate treatment or behaviour".

Mrs Pratt is now embroiled in allegations that her charity is too close to the Tories.

Tory MP Ann Widdecombe is a patron of the charity, but has aired concern over Mrs Pratt going public with the details of calls.

The revelation that Mrs Pratt has been in contact with local Conservative MPs will add to the claims of political bias.

In a further twist, Mrs Pratt later said she had been "bombarded" with messages, including one from an MP which left her feeling "slightly intimidated".

She told Sky News: "We are being bombarded with emails and we are in receipt of a fairly strong emotional letter from one MP which does surprise us.

"We do feel slightly intimidated by that and we would have expected in the circumstance certainly not to receive a letter of that nature."

Sky reported that a former Labour minister had written an email to the anti-bullying helpline to say: "I am writing to express my absolute amazement that you have so comprehensively breached the commitment on your website to treat calls as confidential and to respect the dignity of those who use your service."

Fiona Gordon, who served as Mr Brown's political secretary in N0 10 for a year, denied that her former boss was a bully.

Ms Gordon said that her position meant she frequently had to be the "bearer of bad news" to the Prime Minister.

She told Sky News: "I worked there for a year and I met him almost every day for that period and I know what was going on at that time and I don't recognise what is being said at all.

"I saw quite a lot of huffing and puffing and heard shouting. I think it would be a bit odd if there wasn't a bit of shouting when you are coming in and saying some quite serious things have gone wrong.

"I think it would be a bit strange if the Prime Minister didn't react and show his displeasure and if he didn't try to get the very best from his staff by pushing them quite hard.

"It is a difficult place to work. It is hard working there. It is very, very stressful. But at the end of the day, it is a privilege to serve the Prime Minister of our country."

Ms Gordon said that on occasions when she was upset about something, Mr Brown would break off from his work to offer his support to her.

And she said: "When I left No 10, there were stories about why I left. Some people said that Gordon had thrown a mobile phone at me and that was my reason for leaving. That was not true."

She added: "I don't think he is a bully. He is a determined man and he doesn't often take no for an answer."

Former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith confirmed that she wrote to the National Bullying Helpline yesterday, sending a copy to the charity's patron, Ann Widdecombe.

Ms Smith's letter read: "I am writing to express my absolute amazement that you have so comprehensively breached the commitment made on your website to treat calls as confidential and to respect the dignity of those who use your service.

"The public statements of your chief executive about receiving calls from members of the Prime Minister's Office drive a coach and horses through your confidentiality and impartiality policies.

"I have previously advised constituents facing difficult bullying situations about your service. I will never do that again!"

Mrs Pratt, who said yesterday that her organisation received three or four calls from No 10, said she still did not know exactly how many calls they had taken.

"I knew that there were two from the Deputy Prime Minister's office and another two or more from the PM's office. The number is irrelevant," she told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

She acknowledged that none of the calls referred to claims of bullying by Mr Brown himself.

"Absolutely not, and nor have we said that Gordon Brown is a bully. Our concern here is the public statement from No 10 of denial... we would just want Gordon Brown and No 10 to lead by example.

"We would have hoped that Gordon Brown would have said that he was looking into this, that due process was being followed, and that he takes these issues seriously."

Mrs Pratt defended the operation of her helpline in the face of accusations that she had used it as a means of "angling for business" for a human resources consultancy run by her husband.

She acknowledged that they did offer to refer callers to the consultancy, but insisted that the arrangement had been properly approved.

"It is actually done under an agreement that has been approved by the Law Society. It has been thoroughly vetted," she said.