Boris Johnson nominates his father Stanley for a knighthood, report says

Boris Johnson has put his father forward for a knighthood in his resignation honours list, it has been reported.

The former prime minister, who left office last September, has nominated Stanley Johnson for the honour, The Times newspaper said.

Stanley Johnson, a former MEP, was among as many as 100 names put forward by Mr Johnson for Cabinet Office vetting, the paper added.

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A spokesman for the former Conservative leader said: “We don’t comment on honours.”

Any honour for Stanley Johnson would raise questions about Mr Johnson’s use of the honours system to reward family members with titles.

He faced accusations of cronyism in 2020 after he nominated his brother Jo Johnson, a former minister, for a peerage in 2020. He is now Lord Johnson of Marylebone.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said it would be “absolutely outrageous” if Mr Johnson has nominated his father for a knighthood.

“The idea that Boris Johnson is nominating his dad for a knighthood – you only need to say it to realise just how ridiculous it is,” he said during an LBC Radio phone-in.

“It’s classic of a man like Johnson. I mean, I think the public will just think this is absolutely outrageous.

“The idea of an ex-prime minister bestowing honours on his dad – for services to what?”

In 2021, senior Tory MP Caroline Nokes and a journalist publicly accused Stanley Johnson of touching them at Conservative party conferences.

Ms Nokes, chairwoman of the Commons’ women and equalities committee, accused Stanley Johnson of forcefully smacking her on the backside and making a vulgar comment at the Conservative Party conference in 2003.

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Stanley Johnson said after that he had “no recollection” of either incident.