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.
It has been an extraordinary few hours which may well set the tone for a hugely consequential week ahead.
In the time that it took me to fly from London to Saudi Arabia, where President Donald Trump will begin a pivotal Middle East tour this week, a flurry of news has emerged on a range of key global challenges.
• On the Gaza war: The Trump administration has confirmed it’s holding talks with Hamas, which says it will release a hostage amid renewed hopes of a ceasefire.
• On the Ukraine war: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is prepared to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Istanbul – this announcement came minutes after Trump urged Zelenskyy to agree to the meeting.
• On the China-US trade war: The White House says the two countries have agreed to a “trade deal”. China said the talks, in Geneva, were “candid, in-depth and constructive”.
All three of these developments represent dramatic shifts in three separate challenges and hint at the remarkable influence the US president is having globally.
This sets the ground for what could be a truly consequential week for Trump’s presidency and his ability to effect change.
With his unique style, Trump is seeking to align numerous stars as he embarks on his first foreign diplomatic trip of his second presidency.
For days, it’s been unclear how the week ahead would unfold and which global challenge would be dominant.
The Saudi government has been instrumental as a broker in the Ukraine-Russia conflict and Qatar has been a mediator in the Gaza war.
Trump will visit both countries this week.
President Donald Trump on Air Force One earlier this month. File pic: AP
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Putin under pressure?
On Ukraine, Putin held a late-night news conference at the Kremlin on Saturday at which he made the surprise proposal of talks with Zelenskyy in Istanbul this Thursday.
But he rejected European and US calls for an immediate ceasefire.
The move was widely interpreted as a delay tactic.
Trump then issued a social media post urging Zelenskyy to accept the Russian proposal; effectively to call Putin’s bluff.
The American president wrote: “President Putin of Russia doesn’t want to have a Cease Fire Agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the BLOODBATH. Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY. At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible, and if it is not, European leaders, and the U.S., will know where everything stands, and can proceed accordingly! I’m starting to doubt that Ukraine will make a deal with Putin, who’s too busy celebrating the Victory of World War ll, which could not have been won (not even close!) without the United States of America. HAVE THE MEETING, NOW!!!”
Within minutes, Zelenskyy responded, agreeing to the talks.
“We await a full and lasting ceasefire, starting from tomorrow, to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy. There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday. Personally. I hope that this time the Russians will not look for excuses,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
The prospect of Putin and Zelenskyy together in Istanbul on Thursday is remarkable.
It raises the possibility that Trump would want to be there too.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomes other world leaders to Kyiv. Pic: Presidential Office of Ukraine/dpa/AP Images
Israel’s war in Gaza
On Gaza, it’s been announced that US envoy Steve Witkoff will arrive in Israel on Monday to finalise details for the release of Idan Alexander, an Israeli-American hostage being held by Hamas.
The development comes after it was confirmed that Mr Witkoff has been holding discussions with Israel, Qatar and Egypt and, through them, with Hamas.
The talks focused on a possible Gaza hostage deal and larger peace discussions for a ceasefire.
Read more:
Trump faces criticism over Kashmir post
Pope addresses major wars in first Sunday message
Gaza after around a year and a half of Israeli attacks. Pic: Reuters/Mahmoud Issa
Just days ago, Israel announced a new military plan to move back into Gaza.
When do candid talks become a trade deal?
Meanwhile, officials from the United States and China have been holding talks in Geneva, Switzerland, to resolve their trade war, which was instigated by Trump’s tariffs against China.
Late on Sunday evening, the White House released a statement claiming that a trade deal had been struck.
In a written statement, titled “U.S. Announces China Trade Deal in Geneva”, treasury secretary Scott Bessent said: “I’m happy to report that we made substantial progress between the United States and China in the very important trade talks… We will be giving details tomorrow, but I can tell you that the talks were productive. We had the vice premier, two vice ministers, who were integrally involved, Ambassador Jamieson, and myself. And I spoke to President Trump, as did Ambassador Jamieson, last night, and he is fully informed of what is going on. So, there will be a complete briefing tomorrow morning.”
Beijing Global Times newspaper quoted the Chinese vice premier as saying that the talks were candid, in-depth and constructive.
However, the Chinese fell short of calling it a trade deal.
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A Qatari gift
In a separate development, US media reports say that Qatar is preparing to gift Trump a Boeing 747 from its royal fleet, which he would use as a replacement for the existing and aging Air Force One plane.
The Qatari government says no deal has been finalised, but the development is already causing controversy because of the optics of accepting gifts of this value.
Of all the fronts in Donald Trump’s trade war, none was as dramatic and economically threatening as the sky-high tariffs he imposed on China.
There are a couple of reasons: first, because China is and was the single biggest importer of goods into the US and, second, because of the sheer height of the tariffs imposed by the White House in recent months.
In short, tariffs of over 100% were tantamount to a total embargo on goods coming from the United States’ main trading partner. That would have had enormous economic implications, not just for the US but every other country around the world (these are the world’s biggest and second-biggest economies, after all).
Trump latest: US and China slash tariffs in trade war de-escalation
So the truce announced on Monday by treasury secretary Scott Bessent is undoubtedly a very big deal indeed.
In short, China will still face an extra 30% tariffs (the 20% levies cast as punishment for China’s involvement in fentanyl imports and the 10% “floor” set on “Liberation Day”) on top of the residual 10% average from the Biden era.
But the rest of the extra tariffs will be paused for 90 days. China, in turn, has suspended its own retaliatory tariffs on the US.
The market has responded as you would probably have expected, with share prices leaping in relief. But that raises a question: is the trade war now over? Now that the two sides have blinked, can globalisation continue more or less as it had before?
That, it turns out, is a trickier and more complex question than it might first seem.
Pic: AP
For one thing, even if one were to assume this is a permanent truce rather than a suspended one, it still leaves tariffs considerably higher than they were only last year. And China faces tariffs far higher than most other countries (tot up the existing ones and the Trump era ones and China faces average tariffs of around 40%, while the average for most countries is between 8% and 14%, according to Capital Economics).
In other words, the US is still implementing an economic policy designed to increase the cost of doing business with China, even if it no longer attempts to prevent it altogether. The fact that last week’s trade agreement with the UK contains clauses seemingly designed to encourage it to raise trade barriers against China for reasons of “security” only reinforces this suspicion. The trade war is still simmering, even if it’s no longer as hot as it was a few days ago.
Read more:
US-UK trade deal ‘isn’t worth the paper it’s written on’
Key details in ‘historic’ US-UK trade deal
And more broadly, the deeper impact of the trade rollercoaster in recent months is unlikely to disappear altogether. Companies remain more nervous about investing in factories and expansions in the face of such deep economic instability. No-one is entirely sure the White House won’t just U-turn once again.
That being said, it’s hard not to escape the conclusion that the US president has blinked in this trade war. In the face of a potential recession, he has pulled back from the scariest and most damaging of his tariffs, earlier and to a greater extent than many had expected.
World
Zelenskyy’s offer to meet Putin raises the stakes in this already high-stakes game of diplomacy
Diplomacy over Ukraine has become even more of a game of high-stakes poker.
In the early hours of Sunday, Vladimir Putin played his hand, rejecting demands for a ceasefire and proposing direct talks in Istanbul instead.
Read more:
Trump says Ukraine should ‘immediately’ agree to direct talks with Russia
Ukraine ‘ready to meet’ Russia after Putin calls for peace talks
That was in response to the opening gambit made on Saturday by Ukraine and its European allies.
Sir Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron among world leaders in Kyiv. Pic: AP
Britain’s Sir Keir Starmer said they were “calling Putin out”, that if he was really serious about peace, he should agree to a 30-day unconditional ceasefire starting on Monday.
And they thought they had Donald Trump’s backing until he made his move.
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Kremlin: ‘We don’t share Starmer’s view’
Late Sunday, he drove a cart and horses through claims of western unity, coming down on Putin’s side.
Ukraine, he said, should submit to the Russian leader’s suggestion of talks.
“Ukraine should agree to this – immediately”, he posted. Then: “I’m starting to doubt that Ukraine will make a deal with Putin…”
So much for the Coalition of the Willing having Putin where they wanted him.
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Are Putin’s call for peace talks genuine?
Trump let him off the hook.
All eyes were then on President Zelenskyy, who has now in turn dramatically raised the stakes.
He will go to Istanbul, he said, and wait there for Vladimir Putin.
Over to you, Vladimir.
Read more:
Russia’s VE Day parade felt like celebration of war
Michael Clarke Q&A on Ukraine war
The fast-paced diplomacy aside, the last twenty-four hours have brought Europe closer to a moment of truth.
They thought they had Donald Trump’s support, and yet even with 30 nations demanding an unconditional ceasefire, the US president seemed, in the end, to side with the Russian leader.
He has helped Putin get out of a hole.
Yet again, Trump could not be counted on to pressure Vladimir Putin to end this war.
If America is no longer a reliable partner over Ukraine, Europe may need to go it alone, whatever the cost.
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