Boris Johnson’s peerage nominations prove controversial

Labour is calling on Rishi Sunak to block Boris Johnson’s “conveyor belt of cronies,” over peerage nominations the former prime minister is said to have submitted. The Times reported that former culture secretary Nadine Dorries, Alok Sharma, the outgoing COP26 president and Alistair Jack, the Scotland Secretary, were among a list of around 16 nominees put forward by the ex-PM. Johnson was said to have suggested the MPs delay taking their peerages until the next election to avoid triggering by-elections – a proposal that raised eyebrows among some in the Lords.

If approved, two of his other reported choices, ex-Downing Street staffers Charlotte Owen and Ross Kempsell, would become the youngest peers in history.

Owen, thought to be in her late 20s, was an assistant to Johnson, while Kempsell, a former journalist aged 30, recently resigned his position as political director of the Conservative Party.

David Ross, the multi-millionaire Carphone Warehouse founder who allegedly paid for Johnson’s Mustique getaway in 2020, triggering standards questions, was also reported to be on the peerage list.

Johnson’s former chief of staff and deputy chief of staff respectively, Dan Rosenfield and Ben Gascoigne, were alsosaid to have been nominated, as well as former City Hall aide Kulveer Ranger and Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen.