Shameless Theresa May today showers her cronies with gongs – despite vowing to overhaul the system after David Cameron rewarded allies.
Former Prime Minister May has doled out 41 knighthoods, peerages and OBEs to loyalists who propped her up in power or were with her in the Downing Street bunker in the dying days of her premiership.
Two years ago in the Tory election manifesto, the then Conservative leader pledged: “We will review the honours system to make sure it commands public confidence, rewards genuine public service and that recipients uphold the integrity of the honours bestowed.”
However, six weeks after skulking out of Downing Street to make way for Boris Johnson, May exploited the system to reward her officials.
Awards include a peerage for chief of staff Gavin Barwell – a former Tory MP booted out by voters in her 2017 election disaster; a Companion of Honour for former party chairman Sir Patrick McLoughlin; and a knighthood for her Commons bag carrier, parliamentary private secretary George Hollingbery.
Her top spin doctor Robbie Gibb becomes “Sir Robbie”, while her former deputy David Lidington is also knighted. Her former joint chiefs of staff Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy receive CBEs, as does the Tories’ acting Scottish leader Jackson Carlaw.
May also hands a knighthood to English cricket legend Geoffrey Boycott – 21 years after he was convicted of beating his then girlfriend.
Boycott, 78, was given a three-month suspended sentence and fined 50,000 francs (then £5100) by a French court in January, 1998, after being convicted of repeatedly punching Margaret Moore at a hotel in France in October 1996.
