Official begs bullied staff to speak up

Downing Street's top civil servant made an extraordinary plea to staff yesterday to come forward if they had been bullied.

Principal Private Secretary Jeremy Heywood urged them to report any cases of harassment or intimidation as the row over Prime Minister Gordon Brown's behaviour towards officials paralysed the centre of government.

Labour's plans to build on its recent recovery in the polls was thrown into crisis by the disclosure by the head of an anti-bullying charity that she had received worried calls from Downing St staff.

But she was also thrown on the defensive yesterday by accusations from Labour that she was acting politically and charges from other charities that she had breached the confidentiality of bullying victims.

All of the charity's five patrons, including former Tory minister Ann Widdecombe, resigned.

The turmoil was sparked by allegations in a new book by the journalist Andrew Rawnsley about Brown's intimidating behaviour towards staff.

Downing Street vehemently denied the main accusations and believed it had the story under control until the intervention of Christine Pratt, the founder of the National Bullying Helpline.

She disclosed she had taken "three or four" calls from Downing St staff upset about their treatment. Former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott claimed she was attempting "a publicity stunt for her company".

Pratt strongly denied being driven by political motives but acknowledged that none of the calls referred to bullying by Brown himself.

She amended her version of events, saying her helpline had received "two [calls] from the Deputy Prime Minister's office and another two or more from the PM's office".

- INDEPENDENT