Kemi Badenoch, Business Secretary and Equality Minister Photo: Shutterstock.
Ms. Badenoch, Business Secretary and Equality Minister, allegedly wrote and a letter to the EHRC after the board members rioted about the consideration of the investigation by the vice-chairs of the body.
She asked for a suspension again of the investigation into dozens of staff complaints against its chairman, Baroness (Kishwer) Faulkner of Margraine, after board members wrote to the government that they had “lost patience for being out-voted…in some important decisions” about the investigation.
Ms Badenoch is believed to have expressed concern that the decision to reopen the investigation was reported to Channel 4 last week after the dossier of allegations about “bullying”, “harassment” and “discrimination”, compiled by a handful of EHRC government employees, was broadcast to the same broadcaster in May.
On May 26, the EHRC stated that the investigation was “suspended … while we seek legal advice on the implications of the confidential information leak.” However, Channel 4 reported last week that the investigation had been reopened.
The Telegraph understands that Ms Badenoch's intervention came after most of the remaining board members signed a letter to the government saying they intended to call on Alasdair Henderson and Eryl Bess to step down from their roles as Lady Faulkner's deputies.
The letter was in response to the decision to reopen the investigation, despite no evidence that Mr. Henderson, a barrister, and Ms. Bess, an attorney, had sought legal advice regarding the hostile leaks. the allegations against Lady Faulkner hurt the investigation.
In May, Ms Badenoch vowed to stand up for Lady Faulkner amid Tory fears officials were trying to oust a colleague because of her efforts to change the quango's approach to transgender issues with a greater focus on women's rights.
'Call this frivolous investigation'
On Saturday, Lord Shinquin, a former EHRC commissioner and disability equality campaigner, called for 'this frivolous investigation to be cancelled'.
for equality and human rights – 'a man of impeccable integrity' Credit: Jeff Pugh
A conservative colleague who suffers from brittle bone disease described Lady Faulkner as “a person of impeccable integrity”, adding that the investigation was a distraction from the work she wanted to do to protect disability equality.
“This is very unfair to her, the EHRC and people with disabilities,” he said.
In the letter, the commissioners complained that they were not given any “reason to lift the suspension, despite the fact that a leak investigation is currently underway regarding the latest leak on Channel 4.
The vice chairs intervened to conduct an investigation, given that it involved the chair.
But in their letter to the Government Equality Office, other board members said that “the lack of consultation on lifting the suspension…requires that we come together and take back some control over the process.”
An EHRC source said, “It was a witch hunt from the start. They turned Kishver into this evil figure. She does have grievances against her that need to be addressed, but I don't see why that can't be done through mediation or some sort of internal process that doesn't involve lawyers.”
A second EHRC source added: “Most of the board members agreed that the situation should go back to what it was.”
“They considered her the defendant in court, and themselves the judges,” the source said of the vice chairs.
“We never had to conduct an investigation into this matter. scale. You have discreet mediation with people.”
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