Boris Johnson rewards allies, and a hairdresser, with honors as critics cry foul

LONDON — Several dozen allies of former U.Ok. Prime Minister Boris Johnson obtained honors from King Charles III on Friday, a listing that drew cries of cronyism from opponents of the ousted chief.

“Resignation honors,” bestowed by the monarch however chosen by the federal government, are a longtime however contentious manner for departing leaders to reward loyal lieutenants.

Johnson gave lifetime seats in Parliament’s unelected higher chamber, the House of Lords, to a number of former advisers, and bestowed knighthoods or damehoods on loyalist lawmakers together with former Cabinet ministers Jacob Rees-Mogg and Priti Patel.

Other aides, lawmakers and Conservative Party figures obtained lesser honors. The listing options a number of staffers implicated within the “partygate” scandal over rule-breaking gatherings in authorities buildings throughout the pandemic, together with former Johnson aides Martin Reynolds and Shelley Williams-Walker.

Angela Rayner, deputy chief of the opposition Labour Party, stated that Johnson had rewarded a “carousel of cronies.”

“Instead of tackling the cost-of-living crisis, the Tories are spending their time doling out rewards for those who tried to cover up rule-breaking and toadied to a disgraced former prime minister,” she stated.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s workplace stated that, as is customary, the present chief didn’t intervene along with his predecessor’s honors listing.

Among the political allies of the tousle-haired Johnson, one title on the listing stood out: Kelly Dodge, the long-serving supervisor of Parliament’s in-house hair salon, was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire.

One title lacking from the listing is former Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, a stalwart Johnson supporter who had been extensively tipped to enter the Lords. She wasn’t on the listing however introduced Friday she was quitting as a lawmaker, efficient instantly. There shall be a particular election to fill her seat within the House of Commons.

Issues of patronage are particularly delicate round Johnson, who left workplace in September 2022 when scandals over cash, ethics and judgment turned Conservative lawmakers in opposition to him.

Johnson’s Conservative predecessors Theresa May and David Cameron additionally handed out honors after they left workplace in 2019 and 2016, respectively. But Labour prime ministers earlier than them, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, didn’t use the process.

Johnson, whose profession has been a curler coaster of scandals and comebacks, led the Conservatives to a landslide victory in 2019 however was pressured out by his personal celebration lower than three years later.

Still a lawmaker, he’s awaiting the end result of an investigation by the House of Commons Standards Committee over deceptive statements he made to Parliament a couple of slew of gatherings in authorities buildings in 2020 and 2021 that breached pandemic lockdown guidelines.

Police ultimately issued 126 fines over the late-night soirees, boozy events and “wine time Fridays,” together with one to Johnson, and the scandal helped hasten the top of his premiership.