Gordon Brown bullying claims: five questions an inquiry could ask

This morning Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, backed suggestions that Gus O'Donnell, the cabinet secretary, should investigate the bullying allegations made against Gordon Brown. Here are some questions that an inquiry could address. 1. Did O'Donnell ever talk to Brown about the prime minister's treatment of staff? And, if so, what did he say? Downing Street said last night that O'Donnell had not issued a "verbal warning" to the prime minister. But what exactly has he said to Brown about this issue? 2. What inquiries has O'Donnell made within Downing Street about Brown's behaviour? Downing Street said it was untrue to say that O'Donnell had carried out a formal investigation into complaints about Brown's behaviour. But Andrew Rawnsley did not say there had been a formal investigation. He said O'Donnell had "made inquiries" into an incident involving a secretary being turfed out of her chair by Brown. 3. Will the individuals named in Rawnsley's book corroborate the stories he tells about them? Did Brown ask Stewart Wood, a foreign affairs adviser, "why are you making me meet these fucking people" before shoving him aside at the beginning of a reception for ambassadors? Do protection officers hate sitting in front of Brown in his car because he slams his fist into the back of their seat? Did Brown ask the American speechwriter Bob Shrum: "Why are you fucking doing this to me?" 4. Last year a parliamentary written answer revealed that there had been "fewer than five" cases of staff in the Cabinet Office being disciplined for bullying or harassment. Did Brown have any involvement in these cases? If he didn't, did he take action to ensure that staff were not being bullied? 5. Lord Mandelson said yesterday that Brown could be "impatient" and "demanding". That's understandable. But is there a point at which putting pressure on staff to deliver results, which is legitimate, becomes bullying, which is not? Is there a dividing line between the two? And, if there is, did Brown know where it was, and did he cross it?