Former "premier" Boris Johnson has nominated his own father, Stanley Johnson, to receive the honorary title of "knight," The Times reveals. Stanley Johnson would be included in the long "honours list", made up of a hundred people, left by his son after leaving Downing Street last September
Johnson, who in 2020 nominated his own brother Jo to the House of Lords, has been accused of nepotism while debunking the controversial practice of "nomination" for honorary degrees, traditionally requested by the Prime Minister. to the monarch.
The number of recipients on Johnson's list would be significantly higher than his predecessors. David Cameron was also in the eye of the hurricane when he nominated 13 Conservative Party donors to the House of Lords in 2014 who had contributed a total of 22 million pounds (25 million euros) to the coffers of the "tories ".
Boris Johnson himself caused quite a stir in 2020 when he decided to nominate Evgeny Lebedev, the son of former KGB spy Alexander Lebedev and editor of the Evening Standard, as a member of the House of Lords. Lebedev was eventually honored as a "baron of Hampton and Siberia", despite reports from MI5 that considered such a decision "a security risk".
In this case, the nomination of Stanley Johnson -82, a former MEP and opponent of Brexit in his day- comes accompanied by a double controversy. Conservative MP Caroline Nokes directly accused Johnson's father of "inappropriate touching" and "vulgar remarks" during the 2003 Conservative Party conference. Nokes is currently the chair of the House of Commons Women and Equality committee .
"The idea of knighting Stanley Johnson is ridiculous," said opposition Labor leader Keir Starmer. "Although this is classic behavior for a man like Boris Johnson... I mean people will see it as scandalous: a former prime minister giving his father an honorary position. Why services?"
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
