Partygate aides among those named in Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list but others miss out
Political aides who worked with Boris Johnson during the partygate scandal are among those who have been nominated for honours in his resignation list.
The former prime minister’s highly anticipated resignation honours list has been published and includes Martin Reynolds, his former principal private secretary, who later earned the nickname “party Marty” for his role in a “bring your own booze” party during the pandemic.
Politics Live: Boris Johnson resignation honours list revealed
Mr Reynolds, who was awarded with a Companion of the Bath (CB), rose to prominence at the heart of the parties scandal when he sent an email on 20 May 2020 inviting people for “socially distanced drinks” in the Number 10 garden during the first national lockdown.
Mr Johnson also gave a CBE to Jack Doyle, his former director of communications, and a peerage to his chief of staff Dan Rosenfield, both of whom were in office during much of the partygate rule-breaking era.
Other aides to get honours include the former communications director Guto Harri, who has launched a tell-all podcast about his time in Number 10, parliament hairdresser Kelly-Jo Dodge and Sarah Vaughan Brown, a former personal adviser to Mr Johnson’s wife Carrie.
Charlotte Owen, a former adviser to Mr Johnson who graduated in 2015, will become the youngest ever life peer.
Charlotte Owen will become the youngest ever life peer
Key political allies of Mr Johnson have also been rewarded, including former cabinet ministers Jacob Rees-Mogg and Priti Patel.
Ms Patel, the former home secretary, has been nominated for a damehood, along with former ministers Andrea Jenkyns and Amanda Milling.
Mr Rees-Mogg was given a knighthood alongside former housing secretary Simon Clarke and MPs Conor Burns and Michael Fabricant.
Read More: Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list in full
Tees Valley Mayor Benjamin Houchen and London Assembly member Shaun Bailey are among seven nominations for peerages.
However, while there are some controversial appointments, former minister Nadine Dorries and former Cop26 president Sir Alok Sharma were not put forward for the House of Lords.
Nadine Dorries stood down as an MP moments before the list was published
There had been reports that the pair were in line to receive peerages but the government cut them from the list at the eleventh hour to avoid the prospect of two potentially damaging by-elections.
Ms Dorries stood down with “immediate effect” hours before the list was published – meaning a by-election will go ahead in her constituency anyway.
She said “something significant happened” to influence her decision, but when asked if Mr Sunak had revoked a peerage she told TalkTV: “A prime minister doesn’t have the ability to change the list of a former prime minister.”
Another notable absence includes Mr Johnson’s father Stanley Johnson, who The Times reported had been cut after No 10 raised objections.
Stanley Johnson was reportedly cut from the list
After the list was published, Mr Sunak’s press secretary sought to distance the prime minister from the list.
They insisted that Mr Sunak had “no involvement or input” into the list, and has published it “unamended”.
But Lord Newby, leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, called Mr Johnson’s resignation honours list a “clear failure of leadership” from the prime minister.
“Boris Johnson caused crisis after crisis in this country. His lack of honour means he didn’t deserve an honours list in the first place,” he said.
‘Sickening insult’
Opposition MPs were also scathing in their assessment of the list, with Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner calling it a “sickening insult” to COVID victims and Deputy Lib Dem leader Daisy Cooper calling it “corruption pure and simple.”
Ms Rayner said: “Instead of tackling the cost-of-living crisis, the Tories are spending their time doling out rewards for those who tried to cover up rule-breaking and toadied to a disgraced former prime minister.
“It’s a sickening insult that those who planned COVID parties and held boozy lockdown bashes while families were unable to mourn loved ones are now set to be handed gongs by Rishi Sunak.”
A former ally of Mr Johnson also called the list “an utter disgrace”, telling Sky News’ political correspondent Joe Pike: “It rewards for failure all round.
“A list of bullies, sycophants & slimeballs. Boris has slammed the door shut on the prospect of any return to the frontline of British politics and trashed what remained of his legacy.”
Mr Johnson announced he would be leaving Downing Street almost 10 months ago following the collapse of his government.
There have been numerous reports since Mr Johnson left office that his list was initially too long, with opposition parties also accusing him of appointing allies to the House of Lords and abusing the system.
The prime minister’s resignation honours are granted by an outgoing prime minister according to tradition.
A prime minister can request the reigning monarch to grant peerages, knighthoods, damehoods or other awards in the British honours system to any number of people.
In the case of peerages, the House of Lords Appointments Commission vets the list.
Often, but not always, Downing Street staff, political aides and MPs are rewarded through the system.
World
Egypt: Two Britons believed to be among 16 missing as tourist boat sinks after being ‘hit by large wave’
Two Britons are believed to be among more than a dozen people missing after a boat sank in the Red Sea off the Egyptian coast.
The yacht, called Sea Story, had 44 people on board, including 31 tourists of varying nationalities and 13 crew.
Authorities are searching for 16 people, including 12 foreign nationals and four Egyptians, the governor of the Red Sea region said, adding that 28 other people had been rescued.
Preliminary reports suggested a sudden large wave struck the vessel, capsizing it within about five minutes, governor Amr Hanafi said.
“Some passengers were in their cabins, which is why they were unable to escape,” he added in a statement.
Survivors rescued from the Sea Story in Marsa Alam. Pic: STR/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
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Passengers rescued from sunken tourist boat
The people who were rescued only suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scrapes with none needing hospital treatment.
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office spokesperson said: “We are providing consular support to a number of British nationals and their families following an incident in Egypt and are in contact with the local authorities.”
The foreign nationals aboard the 34-metre-long vessel, owned by an Egyptian national, included Americans, Belgians, British, Chinese, Finns, Germans, Irish, Poles, Slovakians, Spanish, and Swiss.
Sea Story had no technical problems, obtained all required permits before the trip, and was last checked for naval safety in March, according to officials.
The four-deck, wooden-hulled motor yacht was part of a multi-day diving trip when it went down near the coastal town of Marsa Alam following warnings about rough weather.
Officials said a distress call was received at 5.30am local time on Monday.
The boat had left Port Ghalib in Marsa Alam on Sunday and was scheduled to reach its destination of Hurghada Marina on 29 November.
The Sea Story had 44 people on board. File pic: Dive Pro Liveaboard
Some survivors had been airlifted to safety on a helicopter, officials said.
The firm that operates the yacht, Dive Pro Liveaboard in Hurghada, said it has no information on the matter.
According to its maker’s website, the Sea Story was built in 2022.
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The incident comes after the Egyptian Meteorological Authority issued a warning on Saturday about turbulence and high waves on the Red Sea.
The organisation had advised against maritime activity for Sunday and Monday.
Some tourist companies have stopped or limited operations on the Red Sea due to the potential dangers from conflicts in the region.
A motion has been filed to drop the charges against Donald Trump of plotting to overturn the 2020 US presidential election result.
Mr Trump was first indicted on four felonies in August 2023: Conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and an attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.
The president-elect pleaded not guilty to all charges and the case was then put on hold for months as Mr Trump’s team argued he could not be prosecuted.
Special Counsel Jack Smith. Pic: Reuters
Donald Trump supporters storm the US Capitol
On Monday, prosecutors working with special counsel Jack Smith, who had led the investigation, asked a federal judge to dismiss the case over long-standing US justice department policy, dating back to the 1970s, that presidents cannot be prosecuted while in office.
It marks the end of the department’s landmark effort to hold Mr Trump accountable for the attack on the US Capitol on 6 January 2021 when thousands of Trump supporters assaulted police, broke through barricades, and swarmed the Capitol in a bid to prevent the US Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
Mr Smith’s team had been assessing how to wind down both the election interference case and the separate classified documents case in the wake of Mr Trump’s election victory over vice president Kamala Harris earlier this month, effectively killing any chance of success for the case.
In court papers, prosecutors said “the [US] Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated”.
They said the ban [on prosecuting sitting presidents] “is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the government stands fully behind”.
Mr Trump, who has said he would sack Mr Smith as soon as he takes office in January, and promised to pardon some convicted rioters, has long dismissed both the 2020 election interference case and the separate classified documents case as politically motivated.
Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington. Pic: AP
He was accused of illegally keeping classified papers after leaving office in 2021, some of which were allegedly found in his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
The election interference case stalled after the US Supreme Court ruled in July that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution, which Mr Trump’s lawyers exploited to demand the charges against him be dismissed.
Mr Smith’s request to drop the case still needs to be approved by US District Judge Tanya Chutkan.
No date had been set for a trial.
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At least 1,500 cases have been brought against those accused of trying to overthrow the election result on 6 January 2021, resulting in more than 1,100 convictions, the Associated Press said.
More than 950 defendants have been sentenced and 600 of them jailed for terms ranging from a few days to 22 years.
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