FORMER Tory prime minister Boris Johnson has nominated close allies for knighthoods, damehoods and peerages in his resignation honours list.
Those put forward for a knighthood include former business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg, former housing secretary Simon Clarke and MPs Conor Burns and Michael Fabricant.
Former co-chairman of the Conservative Party Ben Elliot and William Lewis, a political adviser to Johnson, are also in line to become knights bachelors.
Overall, Johnson nominated 38 individuals for honours, including Kelly Jo Dodge, a parliamentary hairdresser, and numerous special advisors from his time as PM and Mayor of London.
Johnson also nominated a number of aides who were involved in the partygate scandal.
Former home secretary Priti Patel has been nominated for a damehood, along with former ministers Andrea Jenkyns and Amanda Milling.
Jenkyns, Morley and Outwood MP, said: “I am deeply honoured to have been awarded a damehood (DBE) for public and political services, having been nominated by our nation’s greatest prime minister since Margaret Thatcher, the Rt Hon Boris Johnson.
“It was an honour to serve in his government as a minister and a whip.”
Jenkyns raised her middle finger to crowds outside No 10 shortly before Johnson’s resignation speech in July.
Here's Conservative ultra-loyalist MP Andrea Jenkyns sticking her finger up at the crowds outside Downing Street as they sing "bye, bye Boris". pic.twitter.com/ld0ql8Kmbo
— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) July 7, 2022
She was serving as an education minister at the time.
The former head of operations at No 10, Shelley Williams-Walker, will also receive a damehood, along with Johnson’s former personal assistant, Ann Sindall.
Charlotte Owen, a former adviser to Johnson, will become one of the youngest peers after being named in the honours list.
Johnson gave peerages to former London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey and Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen.
Former culture secretary Nadine Dorries and Sir Alok Sharma, president of the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow, were absent from the list, following reports the Government cut them at the 11th hour to swerve potentially damaging by-elections in their seats.
But Dorries earlier announced she was standing down as an MP “with immediate effect”, triggering an early election battle in her Mid Bedfordshire constituency.
Elsewhere, Johnson’s former director of communications Guto Harri was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, while the former prime minister’s parliamentary hairdresser also received an honour.
According to the list, the long-time parliamentary hairdresser Kelly Jo Dodge was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire, with former special adviser Henry Cook, whose unredacted WhatsApp messages were also requested by the Covid inquiry, made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
Rosemary Bate-Williams, a former press secretary to the prime minister, receives the same honour as does Jack Doyle, who was Johnson’s communications chief when the partygate story broke.
Downing Street appeared to try to distance Rishi Sunak from Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list.
The Prime Minister’s press secretary said: “As is convention, the Prime Minister forwarded the former Prime Minister’s peerage list to Holac (House of Lords Appointments Commission) unaltered.
“Holac then passed back their approved list.
“The Prime Minister then accepted Holac’s approved list and forwarded it unamended to the Sovereign for their approval.
“He had no involvement or input into the approved list.
“It is a point of fact that it is made public by the Commission if a Prime Minister overrules the Commission’s advice.”
