BORIS Johnson has reportedly failed in his attempt to ennoble his father in his resignation honours list has failed, according to reports.
However, the former prime minister has succeeded in his nominations of aides who served with him during the Downing Street parties scandal.
Several senior Johnson aides who were with him during the parties scandal have been nominated for honours, including Martin Reynolds, according to The Times.
In May 2020, Reynolds invited people to the Number 10 garden for “socially distanced drinks”, at which around 200 people were invited to “bring your own booze”, breaking Covid restrictions.
He later said: “We seem to have got away with it”.
Johnson’s honours list that has been approved by Rishi Sunak reportedly has 50 aides, party donors and Tory MPs and will be published this afternoon.
Nadine Dorries, the former culture secretary, and Alok Sharma, the former COP26 president, had been expected to stand down to take peerages, leaving Sunak facing two by-elections.
However, a Whitehall source said that both were taken off the list yesterday over concerns about the damaging impact of the by-elections.
Last night a source told The Times who is familiar with the process said Dorries and Sharma had been resubmitted to the House of Lords appointments committee for vetting and their peerages were likely to be granted at a later date.
Downing Street had been reportedly “uncomfortable” with Johnson’s proposal that his father receive a knighthood, believing it a reputational risk for the current Prime Minister.
A government source told The Times: “It just would have looked terrible.”
The nomination had prompted accusations that Johnson was using the honours system to reward family members. In 2020 he nominated his brother Jo, a former minister, for a peerage. He is now Lord Johnson of Marylebone.
