Rishi Sunak has delivered a blow to Boris Johnson’s bid to give his father a knighthood, insisting he would never nominate a family member for an honour.
The prime minister said his dad was “going to get a card on Fathers’ Day – and that is about that”.
Mr Johnson sparked yet another political row and claims of cronyism earlier this week when it was reported that he had nominated his father Stanley for the gong.
Almost 250,000 have signed The Independent’s petition calling for the prime minister to block Mr Johnson’s bid to give an honour to his father.
As the sitting prime minister, Mr Sunak can effectively veto the honour – and has faced calls to do so – although it is understood such a nuclear option has never been used in practice.
Asked on a trip to Paris if honours should go to family members and if he as prime minister would ever nominate a family member for an honour, Mr Sunak said: “For me a big success is remembering to get my dad a card on Fathers’ Day, so that is probably about my limit of it.”
Asked if that could be taken as a “no”, he said: “Yes. As I said, if I am doing a card I’m doing well. Love my dad as I do.”
Pushed again on the principle, he said: “My dad’s going to get a card on Fathers’ Day and that is about that.”
The PM’s comments came after immigration minister Robert Jenrick, a close personal and political ally of the prime minister, said Mr Johnson should “absolutely not” give a knighthood to his father. It is also unlikely loyalist Mr Jenrick would have spoken out so strongly unless his comment was in line with Downing Street’s view.
Asked about the issue on BBC Question Time, Mr Jenrick said it would not be “wise” for a former prime minister to include any family members in his resignation honours list.
He was asked to answer the question: “Can my dad have a knighthood too?” and replied: “Well I’ve no idea who will be on the list.”
When pressed by host Fiona Bruce if he opposed the former PM putting forward his own father for a knighthood, Mr Jenrick said: “As a principal, is it wise for a prime minister to nominate a member of their own family for an honour? No, absolutely not.”
He added: “My personal view is it isn’t sensible for a former prime minister to nominate members of their own family for honours.”
David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, told The Independent earlier this week that it was a “ridiculous” and “corrosive” move, while Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer condemned it as “absolutely outrageous”.
Liberal Democrats chief whip Wendy Chamberlain urged Mr Sunak to veto Mr Johnson’s honours list if future ones “are to have any shred of credibility”.
She said: “Honours should be reserved for those who’ve gone above and beyond to contribute to our country. Boris Johnson’s attempt to bestow that recognition on his father makes a mockery of the whole thing.”
The former prime minister’s sister Rachel Johnson even acknowledged “I don’t expect there’s going to be a national outpouring of joy, if my father is going to be arise Sir Stanley” but she said it was the subject of speculation, pointing out that the current prime minister would have to sign off the list.
Downing Street previously indicated that Mr Sunak has no plans to change the honours system, telling reporters: “There are longstanding rules that guard the honours process.
“There’s no plans to change those that I’m aware of. It is a matter of fact that outgoing prime ministers are able to nominate people in this way.”
Johnson has previously gifted his brother, Jo Johnson, a life peerage as Baron Johnson of Marylebone. Mr Johnson’s list will reportedly now feature only around 50 names, lower than the previously reported figure of 100.
Mr Johnson has not spoken publicly about the nomination but a spokesperson for the former premier said: “We don’t comment on honours.” Stanley Johnson also declined to comment.
But his sister told The News Agents podcast: “If my brother hadn’t been prime minister, I think my father could have been in line for some sort of recognition in his own right.
“He’s done much more for the Tory Party and the environment than dozens of people who have been given gongs to at this point.”
She added: “People can draw their own conclusions, please don’t ask me to, as it were, sit in judgment on it. Because it literally is too close. You’re talking about my brother and my father. That is a decision that my brother has made with regards to my father or not.”
In 2021, senior Tory MP Caroline Nokes and a journalist publicly accused Stanley Johnson, a former MEP, 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.
Stanley Johnson said after that he had “no recollection” of either incident.
