Boris Johnson 'pressed Rishi Sunak over knighthood for his father'

13 June 2023 , 11:18

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Boris Johnson pushed to get his father Stanley a knighthood (Image: Getty Images)

Boris Johnson pressured Rishi Sunak to hand the former Prime Minister’s father Stanley a knighthood, it was claimed today.

The ex-PM wanted a gong for his 82-year-old dad as part of his resignation honours.

He pressed Mr Sunak to grant the award when the pair held a secret meeting in the Premier’s Parliamentary office earlier this month, it was reported.

Mr Sunak reportedly told Mr Johnson at the end of the crunch meeting: "I'm not going to make any promises to you.

“I don't want you to leave this room thinking I have made a promise to you because I don't want to fall out with you down the line over it."

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Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak are embroiled in a bitter war of words (AFP via Getty Images)

A government source told The Times: "It just would have looked terrible."

Stanley Johnson is a former MEP, environmentalist and animal welfare campaigner - attributes his eldest son believed earned him a knighthood, the paper reported.

But he has also been hit by allegations about his conduct.

In 2021, Tory MP Caroline Nokes, now 50, accused him of “smacking" her bottom and telling her: "You've got a lovely seat" when she was in her early 30s.

Stanley Johnson previously denied the claims and said he has “no recollection of Caroline Nokes at all”.

Conservative MP Caroline Nokes (pixel8000)

A year earlier, a newly-published book alleged he broke his then wife Charlotte’s nose, resulting in her needing a trip to hospital.

She was reported to have said: "He broke my nose. He made me feel like I deserved it."

When the claim emerged in October 2020, family friends said Stanley Johnson deeply regretted the incident and denied he had been violent on any other occasion.

Meanwhile, the Commons Privileges Committee will reportedly rule that his son Boris Johnson deliberately misled MPs over Partygate.

MPs on the panel have rejected the former PM’s defence that senior officials advised him Covid rules and guidance were followed in No10, according to the Times.

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The Commons Privileges Committee is expected to report tomorrow (AFP via Getty Images)

The panel, whose report is expected to be published tomorrow, found one of his most senior officials in fact warned him against claiming social distancing guidelines were followed at the gatherings, first exposed by the Mirror, it was said.

Mr Johnson's principal private secretary at the time, Martin Reynolds, advised him in December 2021 that he should remove a claim from a statement to the Commons that "all guidance had been followed at all times".

The aide reportedly questioned "whether it was realistic to argue that all guidance had been followed at all times".

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Ben Glaze