Allegations of nepotism: Boris Johnson wants to have his father knighted

Any former Prime Minister of Great Britain may, at the end of his term of office, make nominations as to which deserving personages would have deserved his title of peerage. Boris Johnson’s list is said to have a lot of potential for conflict.

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has once again been accused of nepotism. In the traditional “Resignation Honours”, with which the British heads of government can honor deserving personalities after their departure, the conservative politician wants to have his father Stanley Johnson honored with the title “Sir”, the newspaper “Times” reported. The 82-year-old is one of about 100 people on Johnson’s list.

Johnson’s father was a long-time MEP and worked at the World Bank and the European Commission. He also wrote books on environmental issues. Stanley Johnson made headlines recently when he was accused of indecent behavior. In 2021, senior Tory MP Caroline Nokes and a journalist publicly accused him of touching her at Conservative Party conferences. Johnson Sr. commented on the incidents that he had no memory of it.

The Times criticized the plans as morally wrong. Culture Minister Michelle Donelan, on the other hand, was relaxed. There are much bigger problems, she told broadcaster LBC.

Other personal details could also cause excitement. According to the Times, Johnson wants to appoint four incumbent Conservative MPs, including his confidante Nadine Dorries, to life members of the House of Lords. That would trigger new elections in the constituencies of the parliamentarians – according to polls, the Tories are threatened with serious defeats.

The final decision on the “Resignation Honors” rests with the current Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. If Sunak vetoes the wishes of his internal critic Johnson, the dispute between the politicians is likely to escalate. However, if he approves the proposals of his predecessor, Sunak himself is likely to come under criticism. The accolade itself is then carried out by the head of the British royal family.

Even before Johnson, prime ministers honored party friends or close associates with their “resignation honors”. However, the 58-year-old has already appointed dozens of members of the House of Lords, including his brother Jo as Baron Johnson of Marylebone. Critics have long called for reform of the nomination process. With more than 800 members, the House of Lords is the largest parliamentary chamber in the world after the Chinese People’s Congress.