‘£80K FOR DAMEHOOD’ HONOURS SCANDAL EXPOSED
... claim astonishing of company offering to win author Barbara Taylor Bradford a damehood for £80k fee – by working with ex civil servants ‘involved in the honours process’
A FIRM boasted it could win a gong for a celebrity author for £80,000, the Daily Mail reveals today.
Leaked emails expose a cynical offer to help Barbara Taylor
Bradford become a dame by getting direct feedback from ‘the people that matter’.
The brazen messages stated: ‘Basically our fee is 80K plus VaT ... we bill half up front and half once the damehood has been awarded.’ Hundreds of applicants have used fee-paying companies to help win honours – a practice critics say devalues the entire system.
an urgent investigation was called for last night by the chairman of the House of Commons standards
committee. A former sleaze watchdog called for an immediate ban.
A Cabinet Office source admitted feecharging was ‘damaging’ to the reputation of the honours system and it was considering how to discourage it.
Mrs Taylor Bradford was targeted by PR guru Paul Blanchard, whose firm Right Angles bombarded her with claims that he could help her to secure a damehood.
It is part of a service he provides to ‘work behind the scenes’ to help clients make the ‘right connections’ during applications for knighthoods, OBEs, CBEs and MBEs. The writer, who has an OBE, rejected the pitch.
The details emerged in a Mail investigation into how tycoons and celebrities are among those sometimes paying tens of thousands to firms to try to secure honours. It can also be revealed that:
Another honours application company, Bayleaf Honours, told undercover reporters it had been hired by ‘extremely high profile A-list showbusiness and sports stars’;
‘Working behind the scenes’
A third firm, Awards Intelligence, claims to have a 65 per cent success rate in securing honours for clients – compared with just 10 per cent for those who don’t use its services;
It boasts of the lucrative ‘ business benefits of getting a gong’ and claims staff spend 150 hours on researching and drafting each nomination;
The same company offers graded services named ‘Windsor, Balmoral and Sandringham’. one of which includes 15 ‘professionally drafted letters of support’.
Anyone can nominate an individual for an honour for free on the Government’s website. They must submit a written explanation and at least two supporting letters from others. You cannot nominate yourself.
Nominations are reviewed by independent honours committees before recommendations are put to the main committee, the Prime Minister and eventually the Queen. The process is overseen by the Cabinet Office.
It is illegal to buy or sell honours or to pay to influence the decision makers and civil servants – but there is no law against getting help with applications.
The Mail found three companies prepared to offer to organise applications and supporting letters for a hefty fee. One was Right Angles, run by failed former Labour parliamentary candidate Mr Blanchard, which boasts on its website that it will ‘ work behind the scenes to help you secure the recognition you deserve’.
It adds: ‘We assist you in optimising your chances of being awarded a UK honour by raising and shaping your profile appropriately, helping you make the right connections and creating the right first impression. We provide a discreet, comprehensive service, which is tailored to your needs, giving you the best possible chance of success.’
The firm says there are no guarantees and it only works with those it believes have the achievements and qualities to receive a gong.
There is no suggestion that Right Angles used unlawful methods.
Mr Blanchard approached Mrs Taylor Bradford in March after she appeared on a podcast he hosts.
Emails seen by the Mail show Mr Blanchard asking the author’s advisers for an initial payment of £40,000 and another £40,000 ‘once the damehood is awarded’, which he said could be in ‘nine months, a year max’. In another email he said: ‘I can’t say too much in writing of course, but the reason we are so successful is that we employ former civil servants who have been extensively involved in the honours process.
‘We get feedback directly from the people that matter before the application is submitted ensuring that we can make sure the application ticks the “right boxes” for that year’s honours cohort, ensuring the application is absolutely perfect and ensuring success.’
Questioned about the emails, Mr Blanchard said there was nothing improper and that he was simply referring to former civil servants with expertise.
The novelist’s spokesman said she rejected the request and would never do anything to bring the honours system into disrepute.
Mr Blanchard’s firm also created a 12-page document outlining a strategy to secure Calvin Harris a knighthood, advising him to become an ambassador to charities such as the NSPCC because it is ‘beneficial in the honours process’.
The DJ, who has not been awarded an honour, did not respond to requests for comment. There is no suggestion he knew the document was being drafted on his behalf.
Sir Alistair Graham, a former chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, said last night: ‘I’m really shocked that such companies are in existence. It totally devalues the honours
arrangements. The honours committee should find some way of stopping this practice.’
Labour MP Chris Bryant, chairman of the standards committee, said the practice should be banned.
‘These companies are parasitic leeches,’ he added. ‘This needs to be investigated by the Government.’
Lib Dem MP and leadership candidate Layla Moran said: ‘Honours should go to people who work tirelessly in our communities. They deserve a honour.
‘Not those who can afford to shell out thousands to help them win a gong. This brings dishonour on the honours system.’
A Cabinet Office spokesman dismissed Mr Blanchard’s claims he would receive feedback from ‘people who matter’ before an application was submitted. ‘ This claim is nonsense – honours are earned, not bought and the process cannot be influenced,’ they said.
‘Attempting to “sell” honours is illegal. Anyone who suspects wrongdoing should contact the police.’
The spokesman added: ‘We do not endorse the use of fee-charging services when submitting nominations.’
A source insisted the integrity of the process was not compromised but said the office was considering how to better discourage people from using these services to draft nomination forms.
Mr Blanchard said he was proud of the ‘entirely legal and above board’ service he provided.
He added: ‘ The awards process really is wholly independent – no one can ever guarantee a result.’