Paul Boateng’s wife accused of bullying

The wife of former Labour minister Paul Boateng (pictured), who is now the British High Commissioner in South Africa, has been accused of verbally bullying members of her domestic staff. The Daily Telegraph claims that the complaints against Janet Boateng, which have been made by black members of staff, are deemed so sensitive that Foreign Office ministers have been alerted and are monitoring the situation.

The Telegraph claims that Janet, a former Labour councillor, has subjected some of the staff to verbal bullying, and have obtained details of the internal inquiry into her conduct under a Freedom of Information request. In a statement the Foreign Office said: "While a grievance has been raised by some members of the residence staff, it has not been made against Mr Boateng. It is an internal personnel matter being investigated in South Africa at the appropriate level with assistance from our legal adviser on local labour law issues and the Foreign Office in London."

Paul Boateng, a firebrand leftwing lawyer who became Britain's first black Cabinet minister in 2002, was given the plum South African posting by Tony Blair after he stood down at the 2005 general election. He and his wife now live in some style in the High Commissioner's official residence, a sumptuous nine-bedroom thatched mansion in Cape Town complete with heated swimming pool, four acres of gardens, and floodlit tennis court. The couple have another eight-bedroom residence in Pretoria.

While Boateng, 57, manages an army of 180 diplomatic and consular staff his wife, a social worker by training who became a social-services administrator, is in charge of running of the two official residences.