EMBATTLED Dominic Raab has finally joined the Tory MPs’ foreign affairs WhatsApp group – TWO YEARS into the job.
Fighting to stay in post amid a raging holiday row, the Foreign Secretary scrambled to win support from irked colleagues by showing he’s easy to reach and wants to listen.
He was added to the chat by his parliamentary bag-carrier Joy Morrissey MP this morning, HOAR can reveal.
Such groups are a hotline between ministers and backbench MPs with a keen interest in their departments.
Mr Raab’s panicked entrance likely shows he’s feeling the heat from furious calls for him to resign or be sacked.
But MPs were dumbfounded that it’s taken him so long to join. One astonished Tory on the group told HOAR: “I never realised he wasn’t on the group. You assume the Secretary of State is going to be on the group.
“I think he has been a bit complacent. It would be nice if he was in listening mode more. It will be good for him.”
Another said: “It’s the first time I’ve ever seen him in there – better late than never to get on the phone.”
The Foreign Sec’s charm offensive came as he mounted his defence against claims he declined an urgent call with Kabul during his holiday to Crete last week.
In a rare statement Mr Raab admitted not picking up the phone to his Afghan counterpart Hanif Atmar – but was adamant it wasn’t a priority.
As the Taliban marched on the capital he said the planned call was “quickly overtaken by events”.
The Cabinet Minister – Boris’s second-in-command – says he is not resigning and Downing Street says it has “full confidence in him”.
