Boris Johnson in crony storm: Prime Minister overrules his advisers to hand peerage to ex-Tory treasurer who was embroiled in donations-for-access scandal The Prime Minister Boris Johnson decided to ennoble City tycoon Peter Cruddas House of Lords Appointments Commission recommended he be turned down It was claimed he offered access to then PM David Cameron … Read more
As class warriors go, you’d struggle to find one more devout than Tony Woodley, the former leader of the UK’s Left-wing trade union Unite. He’s repeatedly claimed to have nothing but contempt for the Lords, where 92 hereditary peers still have the power to pass laws. And so it came as no surprise in 2018 … Read more
Ex-Unite union baron Tony Woodley turns down seat in the Lords after Jeremy Corbyn offered him a peerage Tony Woodley offered position by Mr Corbyn before he stepped down as leader He said he was ‘deeply honoured’ by nomination but decided to refuse peerage Mr Woodley, 72, was the joint general secretary of trade union … Read more
Sir Ian Botham was a few days shy of his 44th wedding anniversary when he received a late-night call from the Prime Minister’s office offering him a peerage. He thought someone was winding him up. ‘The call came totally and utterly out of the blue,’ he says. ‘I was with Kath in Melbourne in late … Read more
Sir Ian Botham was a few days shy of his 44th wedding anniversary when he received a late-night call from the Prime Minister’s office offering him a peerage. He thought someone was winding him up. ‘The call came totally and utterly out of the blue,’ he says. ‘I was with Kath in Melbourne in late … Read more
I can reveal that the eminent actor, now 81, who achieved worldwide acclaim when he starred as Gandalf in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, has spurned a peerage His triumphs on stage and screen have helped him amass a fortune of nearly £40 million – which would have been beyond the dreams of avarice … Read more
Fury as ex-Brexit Party MEP who ‘defended’ the IRA is awarded a peerage in latest criticism of honours system Boris Johnson is facing a growing row over the elevation of 36 peers to the Lords There was also fury at the decision to send Claire Fox as a non-affiliated peer She has been accused of … Read more
Lord Beefy! Boris Johnson will give former England cricket captain Sir Ian Botham a peerage this month as he rewards Brexiteers including Ken Clarke and Philip Hammond Boris Johnson plans to reward Brexiteers on anniversary of moving into No. 10 Conservative remainers former Chancellors Ken Clarke and Philip Hammond alongside former culture minister Ed Vaizey … Read more
A businessman awarded a peerage by Harold Wilson had a decade-long relationship with Communist-era spies who considered him so useful that they referred to him as ‘intelligence agency staff’. According to more than 1,000 documents unearthed at archives in Prague, Rudy Sternberg was meeting agents from Czechoslovakia’s Statni Bezpecnost (StB) secret police in the 1960s … Read more
Former House of Commons speaker John Bercow admitted he has ‘made a lot of enemies’, amid bullying claims. Mr Bercow’s chances of being elevated to the Lords, as is tradition for Commons speakers, were hit earlier this year when Lord Lisvane, clerk of the House of Commons from 2011 to 2014, filed an official bullying … Read more