? Boris Johnson reward for knighthood. Is it for cronyism

Controversy was  growing over membership of the House of Lords being handed to friends by former prime ministers – and Boris Johnson’s resignation honors list should bring about the end of this damaging convention, writes Hannah White

Mr. Johnson has been accused of cronyism after handing out peerages, knighthoods and other gongs on those who worked in Downing Street at the time of lockdown-busting parties.

Honours for Jack Doyle, who was Mr Johnson’s communications chief when the partygate story broke, and Martin Reynolds, his former principal private secretary who sent the infamous “bring your own booze” email to No 10 staff, are likely to raise eyebrows.

Mr. Burns also worked  as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Owen Paterson, from 2010 to 2012.

The Belfast-born MP for Bournemouth West has been named on the list for knighthood status, alongside Jacob Ress-Mogg, former housing secretary Simon Clarke and Michael Fabricant.

The former Minister of State for Northern Ireland, Conor Burns MP, has been put forward for knighthood in Boris Johnson's long-awaited resignation honours list.

The list saga has gone on so long that even with full visibility of the final list it is easy to lose sight of why we should care about the people the former prime minister has nominated for peerages during and after his time in office. Appropriately for a politician whose Westminster career has been as dramatic – and controversial – as any in recent memory, Johnson’s list was approved just hours before he quit as an MP.

In his official statement, Mr Johnson said he had decided to step down "for now" after an investigation into the Partygate scandal carried out by the Privileges Committee. Mr Johnson accused the committee of mounting a "witch hunt" against him, determined to "drive me out of Parliament"

The verdict of the Privileges Committee, and Johnson’s rapid exit from Parliament, will dominate the headlines in coming days. But beyond immediate amazement at some of the individuals handed life membership of the second chamber

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.Sarah H

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