Labour donors would not automatically receive honours

LABOUR has failed to rule out giving party donors honours despite criticising Rishi Sunak for awarding a knighthood to a billionaire Conservative backer.

Anneliese Dodds, the party chair, who led the attacks on the Prime Minister, said yesterday that financial benefactors should not get an “automatic pass” into the system. However, she failed to say that Labour would not give honours such as knighthoods to donors.

It follows the announcement on Thursday that Sir Mohamed Mansour, a businessman who gave £5 million to the Conservatives in 2023 and is a senior treasurer for the party, was being knighted for business, charity and political service.

Four Tory MPs were also included in a surprise honours list slipped out while Parliament was in recess and on the eve of the Easter bank holiday weekend. The announcement of honours outside the New Year and King’s Birthday lists in June has fuelled speculation that Mr Sunak could call a summer election, although No10 has played it down.

Asked if a Labour government would give honours to party donors, Ms Dodds said: “It shouldn’t be an automatic pass through from somebody who’s made a huge donation to a political party, then being rewarded in that manner.

“I think the concern here is we have a man who, at the time last January, had given the biggest ever donation to the Conservative Party. That was £5 million last January, and now he’s being honoured by the Prime Minister.”

Senior No10 sources pointed to Sir Mohamed’s charitable work and record of public service, including support for The Prince’s Foundation – now The King’s Foundation – and a major contributor to St Paul’s Cathedral’s Remember Me project, which raised money for a physical memorial to those who died of Covid in the UK.

But Ms Dodds said the public would “make their own minds up” on whether that was the true reason behind his knighthood.

She said Labour has learnt from the cash-for-honours controversy under Sir

Tony Blair, who was questioned three times as part of a police probe into the alleged sale of peerages in 2006.

Ms Dodds told GB New that “those lessons have been learned”, adding: “You either would feel that perhaps Rishi Sunak is so arrogant that he

‘It shouldn’t be an automatic pass through from somebody who’s made a huge donation’

doesn’t mind any more what the public thinks or perhaps he’s demob-happy, he believes that he’s on the way out.”

On his firm’s LinkedIn profile, Sir Mohamed was quoted as saying: “This award is the greatest honour of my life.

I am thrilled and hugely grateful.” A former minister in the Egyptian government, he is chairman of Man Capital LLP, a London-based family office investment firm and leads global conglomerate Mansour Group.

Other recipients of honours included Philip Davies – the husband of Esther McVey, the “common sense” minister – who has been knighted for public and parliamentary service.

Tracey Crouch, the former sports minister who led a review of football governance in the wake of proposals for a European Super League, was given a damehood for public and parliamentary service.

Mark Spencer, the farming minister, was given a knighthood, while Harriett Baldwin, the Treasury select committee chairman, became a dame.