STANLEY Johnson, the father of former Tory prime minister Boris, has reportedly been nominated for a knighthood in his son’s resignation honours list.
It comes after Boris nominated his brother, Jo Johnson, for a peerage in 2020.
Here’s everything you need to know about Stanley Johnson.
Career in politics
Johnson, 82, was born in Cornwall in 1940. He has six children including the former prime minister and journalist Rachel Johnson.
Best known as Boris’s father, Johnson has also been a politician in his own right and was once awarded a prize from Greenpeace for his services to the environment.
Following the UK’s entry into the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973, Johnson served as the Conservative MEP for Wight and Hampshire East between 1979 and 1984.
During his time as an MEP, he served as vice chairman of the European Parliament’s Committee on Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection.
He would later stand to be an MP in the 2005 General Election for the seat of Teignbridge in Devon although lost out to the LibDems.
In 2021, the Scottish Greens said the BBC’s labelling of Stanley Johnson as an “environmentalist” during a discussion about the climate crisis was “embarrassing”.
It came after an appearance from Johnson on BBC’s Newsnight in a discussion on a landmark UN report on climate change.
Reality show appearance
Like many politicians, Johnson once appeared onITV's I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! He appeared on the show in November 2017 and eventually finished in seventh place.
Stanley Johnson and Brexit
Johnson actually voted to remain in the EU in the 2016 referendum, unlike his son who was a figurehead for the Vote Leave campaign and who ultimately led Britain out of the bloc at the end of 2020.
In October 2017, Johnson then came out in support of leaving the EU, stating that “the time has come to bail out”.
However, last May, he said that he was “absolutely delighted” to retain a tie with the EU after Brexit by acquiring French citizenship.
Caroline Nokes
In November 2021, Johnson faced allegations of inappropriate touching from Conservative MP Caroline Nokes, who currently serves as the MP for Romsey and Southampton North.
She told Sky News that Johnson had smacked her “on the backside about as hard as he could”.
She claimed that he remarked: “Oh, Romsey, you’ve got a lovely seat.”
Johnson denied the allegations and responded to Sky News by telling them he had “no recollection” of Nokes.
