Justice Secretary Dominic Raab regards himself as a spicy ‘Vindaloo’ politician compared to the bland ‘korma’ represented by his predecessor Robert Buckland, sources in his new ministry have told The Mail on Sunday.
The bizarre comparison was made in the context of the Judicial Review Bill, inherited by Mr Raab from Mr Buckland, which aims to clip the wings of the Judiciary over the extent to which they can rule on political decisions, such as Boris Johnson’s suspension of Parliament during Brexit negotiations in 2019.
An insider – claiming that the Bill needed beefing up – said: ‘Buckland’s Bill was a creamy Korma.
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab regards himself as a spicy ‘Vindaloo’ politician, pictured in November for the Lord Mayor’s Banquet in London
‘The Deputy Prime Minister is more of a vindaloo man so he’s going to add some extra spice to it.’
Last night, a clearly irritated senior Government source said: ‘The only thing the Justice Secretary has in common with a vindaloo is that they’re both a pain in the a***.’
The row follows claims reported in this newspaper last week that Mr Raab had insisted that his full title of Deputy Prime Minister – given to him as a sop to his bruised feelings when he was demoted from Foreign Secretary – should be used in official correspondence.
This bizarre analogy was drawn in relation to the Judicial Review Bill. It is inherited from Mr Buckland by Mr Raab. The bill aims to cut the wings of Judiciary regarding the limits of their ability to rule on political decision-making. This image was taken in November at Peston
Whitehall sources also claimed that Mr Raab had been ‘throwing his weight around’ in meetings, objecting if a Minister he was meeting was ‘too junior’.
The reshuffle has also caused tensions with Mr Raab’s successor at the Foreign Office, Liz Truss, over his use of the grace-and-favour Chevening House in Kent, which is usually placed at the sole disposal of the Foreign Secretary.
He has not yet been allowed to spend any time in the mansion built in 17th century. Raab said he did not want to be denied full title use.
Sources close to Mr Raab said that Raab never compared himself with a vindaloo curry.