Having a ‘threshold’ for bullying is out of date

IF THERE is a Great British Bully, it is probably Flashman, the vicious schoolboy villain of Thomas Hughes’ Victorian novel Tom Brown’s School Days. Among other things, Flashman toasted Tom in front of a fire as a punishment.

Flashman’s abuse would still count as bullying, according to Dominic Raab, who resigned as UK deputy prime minister on Friday (April 21) after bullying allegations were upheld against him.

In his resignation letter, Raab said the inquiry had “set the threshold for bullying so low”, that it had created “a dangerous precedent”. He pointed out that, according to the probe, he had not sworn or shouted, thrown anything, physically intimidated or intentionally belittled anyone. But Raab’s bar for bullying is too high and, in many ways, as out of date as Flashman himself.