Former Minister of State for Northern Ireland Conor Burns MP put forward for knighthood as Boris Johnson is blasted for cronyism

The Belfast-born MP for Bournemouth West has been named on the list for knighthood status, alongside Jacob Ress-Mogg, former housing secretary Simon Clarke and Michael Fabricant.

Mr Burns also served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Owen Paterson, from 2010 to 2012.

However, Mr Johnson has been accused of cronyism after handing out peerages, knighthoods and other gongs on those who worked in Downing Street at the time of lockdown-busting parties.

Honours for Jack Doyle, who was Mr Johnson’s communications chief when the partygate story broke, and Martin Reynolds, his former principal private secretary who sent the infamous “bring your own booze” email to No 10 staff, are likely to raise eyebrows.

Labour’s Angela Rayner called the list a “sickening insult”.

The deputy leader said: “Instead of tackling the cost-of-living crisis, the Tories are spending their time doling out rewards for those who tried to cover up rule-breaking and toadied to a disgraced former prime minister.

“It’s a sickening insult that those who planned Covid parties and held boozy lockdown bashes while families were unable to mourn loved ones are now set to be handed gongs by Rishi Sunak.”

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “Boris Johnson has been allowed to hand out gongs to his partygate pals, and Rishi Sunak has just waved it through.

“We’ve gone from the lavender list to the catalogue of cronies.”

Notably absent from the list were former culture secretary Nadine Dorries and Sir Alok Sharma, president of the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow, following reports the Government cut them at the 11th hour to swerve potentially damaging by-elections in their seats.

But Downing Street sought to distance Mr Sunak from the list.

“He had no involvement or input into the approved list,” the Prime Minister’s press secretary said.

Furthermore, former London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey and Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen were among seven nominations for peerages.

Former home secretary Ms Patel was nominated for a damehood, along with former ministers Andrea Jenkyns and Amanda Milling.