More civil servants planned to file complaints against Dominic Raab over his behavior but reportedly withdrew for fear of being identified.
Senior counsel Adam Tully is investigating a number of complaints about the deputy prime minister’s behaviour.
But JEE News understands a number of public servants who intend to lodge formal complaints.
Mr Raab, who was reappointed as a cabinet minister by Rishi Shankar, has denied allegations of bullying.
The Asher and Walton MP previously served as Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister under Boris Johnson.
Mr Raab, a close associate of Mr Sunak, was sacked from those roles when Liz Truss became prime minister in September.
After Mr Sunak became prime minister, Mr Raab was reappointed as both justice secretary and deputy prime minister.
He faces a number of complaints from his first stint at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), and from his time as Brexit Secretary in 2018. He has been the subject of a single complaint since his tenure as foreign secretary.
JEE News has found that other civil servants who allegedly planned to file complaints did not. The decision came after he was told Mr Tully would be identified with Mr Raab as part of the investigation.
It is considered standard practice for an investigation not to seek testimony from anonymous sources.
It is suggested that some are likely to be identified if Mr Raab remains in office, and will know that they have made a complaint against him.
The prime minister will decide on the political future of the justice secretary when Mr Tully completes his investigation.
JEE News understands that some staff who did not make a direct complaint are now offering to act as witnesses to the inquiry. Mr Tully has been interviewed about Mr Robb’s alleged conduct since the start of the year.
Whitehall sources say Mr Robb has changed his alleged behavior since returning to the MoJ last autumn.
The FDA, a union of senior government employees, wants to see the complaints process restored.
The union has claimed that confidence in the system had been lost after former home secretary Priti Patel remained in the post following an investigation into the scandal. The FDA believes that this has made some of its members reluctant to file complaints.
The government has promised that Mr Tully will have “access to all the information he wants to see” and that his report on Mr Raab’s conduct will be made public.
When the inquiry was announced last November, Mr Raab said he would “completely deny and refute” the claims against him in a “fair and formal” setting.
He said he was “confident” he had behaved “professionally”.
