Rishi Sunak criticised for ‘surprise’ honours list including major Tory donor Mohamed Mansour
Rishi Sunak has been criticised for announcing a “surprise” round of honours – including a knighthood for a major donor to the Conservative Party.
It was announced on the Thursday before the Easter bank holiday weekend that Mohamed Mansour was being knighted for business, charity and political service – he had given £5m to the Tories in 2023 and is a senior treasurer at the party.
A number of Conservative MPs were also made knights and dames.
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Labour’s chair, Anneliese Dodds, said Mr Sunak‘s nominations were “either the arrogant act of an entitled man who’s stopped caring what the public thinks, or the demob-happy self-indulgence of someone who doesn’t expect to be prime minister much longer”.
Asked by Sky News if Labour would rule out giving donors honours if they were in government, Ms Dodds said giving money should not be an “automatic pass”.
Following the announcement, Mr Mansour said: “This award is the greatest honour of my life. I am thrilled and hugely grateful.
“This award would have meant so much to my father and mother. I wish they could have lived to see this day. This honour is for them, for the values they taught my siblings and I and for everything they did for us.”
Downing Street sources highlighted Mr Mansour’s work supporting charities – including financially backing a memorial to those who died due to COVID.
Speaking to Sky News, Conservative peer and polling expert Lord Robert Hayward said the public would be “unhappy” with the move.
While some non-political figures – like director Christopher Nolan – were also knighted, it’s the political acts that will draw attention.
Mohamed Mansour, who has been knighted by Rishi Sunak. Pic: Reuters
This will hardly strengthen confidence in the honours system
We’ve been here before.
Questions over who gets gongs stretch back decades.
The appointment of Tory donor and treasurer Mohamed Mansour inevitably relights the row.
Labour has accused Rishi Sunak of being “demob happy” and “self-indulgent”.
Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to clean up cronyism in the honours system.
What that means in practice is unclear, although he has said he wouldn’t have a resignation honours list if he became prime minister.
We will wait and see if knighthoods are dished out to major Labour donors if the party makes it into government.
In fact, it’s the timing of this announcement that is potentially more interesting than the contents.
There isn’t usually an “Easter Honours List”.
That’s fuelled speculation of attempts to square off supporters ahead of an early general election.
Government sources deny that and say the answer is purely administrative – appointments to the privy council from the devolved assemblies were required, and so the prime minister also wanted to take the opportunity to honour other individuals too.
It’s a somewhat curious explanation.
But whatever the truth, the sight of another honour being handed out to someone who’s very much in the fold of party politics will hardly strengthen confidence in the behind-the-scenes machinations of Westminster.
Lord Haywood said: “I think people don’t like it, there’s no question about that.
“The problem is that you’ve got people who are genuine philanthropists who also give money to a political party, and that’s where the line isn’t differentiated.”
He added that he was “really surprised” by the timing of the list – but it probably doesn’t say anything about the timing of a general election.
Normally, honours are granted at New Year’s on the monarch’s birthday, or after the resignation of a prime minister, although this is a convention not a rule.
The timing of the announcement, while parliament is in recess, has also raised eyebrows – although sources suggested the timing was linked to the need to make appointments to the Privy Council, including the new Welsh First Minister Vaughan Gething.
Tory MP Philip Davies was one of the Conservative MPs to be made knight. He is known for hosting a television show on GB News with his wife, fellow Conservative MP and minister Esther McVey.
Ex-sports minister Tracey Crouch will become a dame having run a review into reforming the UK football system, and farming minister Mark Spencer will also become a sir.
Treasury Select Committee chair Harriett Baldwin – a Conservative MP – will also become a dame.
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Away from politics, Mr Nolan and wife and producer Emma Thomas have been handed honours following the release of award-winning biopic Oppenheimer.
Dr Demis Hassabis, who co-founded Google’s DeepMind AI business, was also made a knight.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed deciding on whether to greenlight two proposed cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) holding Dogecoin and XRP, filings show.
The US regulator has delayed its deadline for ruling on the proposed ETF listings until June, according to two filings reviewed by Cointelegraph.
The filings were responses to March requests from US exchanges NYSE Arca and Cboe BZX Exchange to list Bitwise’s Dogecoin (DOGE) ETF and Franklin Templeton’s XRP (XRP) ETF, respectively.
They came on the same day that Nasdaq, another US exchange, asked for permission to list a 21Shares Dogecoin ETF.
Dogecoin is the world’s most heavily traded memecoin, with a market capitalization of around $26 billion as of April 29, according to data from CoinGecko. XRP is the native token of the XRP Ledger blockchain network. It has a market capitalization of approximately $133 billion, CoinGecko data shows.
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Deluge of filings
In 2025, the SEC has fielded requests to authorize dozens of altcoin ETFs for US listing. As of April 21, approximately 70 crypto ETFs were awaiting the SEC’s review.
Asset managers are proposing funds holding “[e]verything from XRP, Litecoin and Solana to Penguins, Doge and 2x Melania and everything in between,” Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas said in an April 21 post on the X platform.
The deluge of proposals comes as US President Donald Trump pushes the SEC to take a more accommodating stance toward cryptocurrencies.
However, analysts caution investor demand for altcoin ETFs may be tepid in comparison to funds holding core cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).
“Having your coin get ETF-ized is like being in a band and getting your songs added to all the music streaming services,” Balchunas said.
“Doesn’t guarantee listens but it puts your music where the vast majority of the listeners are.”
Although US exchanges are embracing crypto ETFs, they are also urging the SEC to take a tough regulatory posture toward digital assets. In an April 25 comment letter, Nasdaq encouraged the SEC to hold digital assets to the same compliance standards as securities if they constitute “stocks by any other name.”
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The United States exchange Nasdaq has asked regulators for permission to list a 21Shares exchange-traded fund (ETF) holding the popular memcoin Dogecoin, regulatory filings show.
The move follows 21Shares’ April 10 filing of its initial proposal to launch its Dogecoin ETF, shortly after similar applications from rivals Bitwise and Grayscale. The asset manager has also sought regulators’ permission to list ETFs holding other cryptocurrencies, including Solana (SOL), XRP (XRP), and Polkadot (DOT).
Nasdaq must gain approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) before it can list and trade the fund. The request amounts to a regulatory review process that could determine whether Dogecoin becomes accessible to a broader range of investors through an ETF structure.
Related: 21Shares files for spot Dogecoin ETF in the US
Onslaught of altcoin ETFs
Fund issuers requested to list dozens of altcoin ETFs after US President Donald Trump instructed the SEC to take a friendlier stance toward cryptocurrencies after his second term began in January.
As of April 21, more than 70 crypto ETFs were awaiting the SEC’s review. The list includes alternative layer-1 (L1) native tokens, such as SOL and Sui (SUI), as well as memecoins such as Bonk (BONK) and Official Trump (TRUMP).
While exchanges such as Nasdaq seek to list more crypto ETFs, they are also pushing for firmer US regulatory oversight of digital assets. In an April 25 comment letter, Nasdaq urged the SEC to hold digital assets to the same regulatory standards as securities if they constitute “stocks by any other name.”
Dogecoin utility
Dogecoin (DOGE) is a popular memecoin with a market capitalization of nearly $26 billion as of April 29, according to CoinGecko.
It is distinct from most other memecoins because DOGE is the native token of the Dogecoin network.
The proof-of-work blockchain network is designed as a faster, cheaper alternative to Bitcoin (BTC) for peer-to-peer payments.
It processed more than 40,000 transactions in the past 24 hours, according to data from Bitinfocharts.com.
In September 2024, blockchain developers QED Protocol and Nexus tipped plans to launch a layer-2 (L2) scaling solution designed to bring smart contracts to Dogecoin.
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The United Kingdom’s Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, have proposed new crypto rules aimed at “support[ing] innovation while cracking down on fraudsters.”
In an April 29 notice, the UK government announced draft rules for cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), that would bring “crypto exchanges, dealers and agents” in line with regulations, as many residents were “exposed to risky firms and scams.” It cited discussions with US government officials, including a proposed US-UK cross-border sandbox from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Hester Peirce.
“Today’s announcement sends a clear signal: Britain is open for business — but closed to fraud, abuse, and instability,” said the notice. “The government will bring forward final cryptoasset legislation at the earliest opportunity, following engagement on the draft provisions with industry.”
Related: UK trade bodies ask government to make crypto a ‘strategic priority’
Treasury and Reeves said the UK was committed to making the country a “global hub for digital asset technologies,” referencing the goals of the previous government under the Conservative Party. A 2023 consultation paper from Treasury proposed “bringing a wide range of cryptoasset activities” — including trading and issuing stablecoins — in line with UK regulations.
Praise from industry
In a statement shared with Cointelegraph, Ian Silvera, the associate director for the self-regulatory trade association CryptoUK, called the government announcement a “very much welcomed and a big victory” for crypto firms. However, he added that the industry could also benefit from regulatory clarity on liquid staking and DeFi.
“Though there has been good regulatory progress from the [Financial Conduct Authority], which published its crypto roadmap late last year, the UK government first committed to becoming a global crypto hub in 2022,” said Silvera. “Progress has been slow since then, but as the Chancellor has recognised herself the mainstreaming of the industry has continued, with now 12% of all UK adults owning some sort of crypto, up from 4% in 2021.”
The FCA plans to publish final rules on crypto sometime in 2026, setting the groundwork for the UK regulatory regime to go live. The roadmap to greater regulatory clarity in the UK could follow the European Union, which started to implement its Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework in December.
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