The top civil servant at the Department for International Development (DfID) has written to staff to reassure them that the ministry has “zero tolerance” of bullying and harassment in the wake of reports about Priti Patel.

Patel, who was international development secretary from July 2016 until November 2017, has been beset by a raft of reports alleging she bullied and belittled officials at both the Home Office and DfID, where she reportedly openly described staff as “fucking useless”.

In an email to all staff seen by the Guardian, the DfID permanent secretary, Matthew Rycroft, said that in light of the reports he was writing to staff “to underline the importance of preventing bullying” and revealed that a recent internal survey had highlighted that the department had more to do.

In a separate email, the head of the civil service, Mark Sedwill, has issued a warning to civil servants over briefing to the media, saying it “besmirches this country’s hard-won reputation for good governance”. Read more

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