A SENIOR Welsh lawyer revealed last night she had raised concerns in 2007 over the charity at the centre of the Number 10 bullying row.
As Westminster pored over claims by Christine Pratt that staff from Downing Street called her National Bullying Helpline (NBH), questions were raised about the charity’s operations.
Elin Pinnell, an employment law expert and partner at Cardiff firm Capital Law, said she was invited to take part in an anti-workplace bullying roadshow featuring NBH. But she walked out, complaining the charity appeared more concerned with drumming up business for a human resources (HR) consultancy run by Mrs Pratt’s husband, David.
Her comments come amid claims from Mr Brown’s allies that allegations the Prime Minister bullied staff were part of a “political operation” against the Labour Government.
After the 2007 event, held in Swindon, Ms Pinnell wrote to Mrs Pratt: “I’m afraid that I found the whole experience thoroughly unpleasant. I have waited some time before writing to you, in order to check that I had not overreacted, and to conduct some investigation into your organisation, to see where you fit in to the charitable landscape that is fighting bullying and harassment.
“I am no more comforted than I was at the end of your event, that your promotion of the bullying helpline is merely a method by which you can relentlessly sell your HR consultancy.”
Ms Pinnell last night said she was surprised to hear of Mrs Pratt’s intervention in the row over Mr Brown’s behaviour towards members of Downing Street staff.
“I was really crestfallen that she was still actually running a business under the banner National Bullying Helpline,” said Ms Pinnell.
“I was disappointed she was still in business.”
Explaining her own intervention in the highly-charged political row over the Prime Minister’s personal conduct, Mrs Pratt said she “saw red” after hearing senior Labour figures deny allegations of bullying within Number 10.
A new book by political journalist Andrew Rawnsley suggests Mr Brown had at various times shouted at colleagues, grabbed one by the lapels and even had to be spoken to about his behaviour by the head of the Civil Service.
But Mrs Pratt herself came in for fierce criticism yesterday, not least from those furious that she had appeared to breach confidentiality by revealing that her helpline had received calls from Downing Street.
Mrs Pratt said: “Our involvement here and our concern here is not about the level of calls or where they are coming from but the fact that Number 10 issued a statement of denial in circumstances where we would have expected them to follow their own practices.”
The charity boss said she was in “no doubt” that the calls had come from Downing Street staff as opposed to being from prank callers.
Addressing allegations that her organisation was too close to the Tories, she said: “There is no political edge at all. We are a non-political organisation. We are totally open and transparent.”
But she was criticised for an apparent breach of her clients’ confidentiality, and four patrons of the charity – including Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe – resigned their positions last night.
Conservatives and Liberal Democrats also called for an inquiry into the bullying claims last night, while Downing Street insisted there was a “zero-tolerance” approach to bullying in the Civil Service, and that there were no grievance procedures under way in relation to Number 10 or the Cabinet Office.
The current row was sparked by publication of extracts at the weekend from Mr Rawnsley’s book, The End of the Party, that included accounts of Mr Brown pulling a secretary from her chair, “roughly shoving” an aide, and four - letter - word rants that frightened staff.
Don Touhig, the Labour MP for Islwyn and a former Parliamentary Private Secretary to Mr Brown, said he did not recognise the portrayal of Mr Brown in Andrew Rawnsley’s book.
“I worked with Gordon for two and a half years when Labour came into government, intense years where we made the Bank of England independent and started to sort out the problems of the economy and so on and so forth,” said Mr Touhig.
“Gordon works at a huge pace and is impatient, impatient with himself.”
Mr Touhig added: “He works at a huge pace, and wants and expects those who work with him to work at a similar frantic sort of level. If you want a picture of Gordon Brown as I know Gordon Brown, you couldn’t do better than the Piers Morgan interview.
“Gordon is very human and can laugh at himself; often these things do not come across in public. My wife and I watched the interview the other day and we said ‘that’s the Gordon Brown we know in private’.”
Plaid Cymru MP Hywel Williams said: “Like most people – I’m not sure whether these accusations have any substance, or whether it is more of the same old smear politics that we get week in week out from the London parties.
“The only sensible way to find out is for these claims to be thoroughly investigated. Allegations of bullying at any level should be taken very seriously.
“I think they should all stop slinging mud at each other until that is carried out and the facts are clear.
“Their behaviour is doing nothing to re-establish the public’s faith in politics andpoliticians.”
In interviews yesterday, Mrs Pratt defended the operation of her helpline in the face of accusations that she had used it as a means of “angling for business” for a human resources consultancy run by her husband.
She acknowledged they did offer to refer callers to the consultancy, but insisted the arrangement had been properly approved.
“It is actually done under an agreement that has been approved by The Law Society. It has been thoroughly vetted,” she said.
The Charity Commission said it had received some complaints yesterday over the operations of NBH.
Ms Pinnell said that in cases of workplace bullying confidentiality is “absolutely critical”.
She said: “In my experience, where confidentiality is requested and preserved, usually there is a solution that can be reached.
“People usually just want it to stop.
“Again, if you keep everything confidential you will, more often than not, find a route to resolve the problem; if it becomes public there are barriers then to finding a satisfactory solution for everybody concerned.”
Published in Western Mail 23.02.2010
