Liz’s team are in contention for honours… after just 44 days on the job: The aide ‘pushed advisers to knighthood’ after seven weeks of working with the ex-Prime Minister online for £115,000 per year as she fires her on
- Liz Truss’ closest advisers could be named on her resignation honors list
- Chief of Staff Mark Fullbrook and Special Adviser Jason Stein put forward candidates
- The suggestion drew heavy criticism from rival political parties
- Comes days after controversy over his £115,000 taxpayer-funded allowance
Liz Truss could cover her closest allies with knighthoods and peerages as part of a controversial resignation honors list despite serving as prime minister for less than two months.
Mark Fullbrook, the prime minister’s former chief of staff, reportedly suggested she reward her outgoing staff and advisers with gongs.
Key members of Miss Truss’ team and major donors could receive knighthoods or peerages, regardless of her disastrously short tenure.
Those vying for the honors could include special adviser Jason Stein, who was suspended last week for a critical briefing on Sajid Javid.
Other touted names include political adviser Jamie Hope, chief strategy officer Iain Carter, economic adviser Matthew Sinclair and deputy chief of staff Ruth Porter.
It was also suggested last night that Mr Fullbrook had pushed for an honor himself, but this has been denied by sources close to the former adviser.
Downing Street sources insisted it would be conventional for an incumbent prime minister to publish such a list. Opposition parties have already largely rounded on the suggestion.
Willie Sullivan, of the Electoral Reform Society, said: ‘If Liz Truss chooses to pack the Lords with new peers when leaving office, it will only further damage the legitimacy of Westminster at a time when the confidence of the public in politics is already pushed to the extreme. ”
Former Prime Minister Liz Truss outside 10 Downing Street yesterday as she formally steps down after her disastrously short term
A removal van outside Downing St brings Miss Truss’ belongings back to her family home
Mark Fullbrook, the prime minister’s former chief of staff, reportedly suggested she reward her outgoing staff and advisers with peerages. Sources close to the adviser last night dismissed claims he pushed for his own gong
Over the weekend, the outgoing Prime Minister hosted a series of farewell events for MPs and Checkers staff on her final weekend in office.
The outgoing Prime Minister, who resigned this week after a disastrous spell at No 10, has used Buckinghamshire’s Mansion of Grace and Favor for a series of farewell parties.
It has been suggested that his evoked honors list could be as controversial as Harold Wilson’s infamous ‘lavender list’ of 1976, in which a number of the recipients were wealthy businessmen.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s list of resignation honors has yet to be released.
Labor prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have both shunned the opportunity to present resignation honors amid the spending money scandal.
Mr Brown bestowed honors as part of his ‘dissolution list’ following the conclusion of Parliament which saw more than two dozen peerages distributed.
It comes days after a backlash erupted over Miss Truss’ controversial pay package following the dramatic collapse of her post as Prime Minister.
The ex-Prime Minister is in line for a payout of nearly £20,000 and a taxpayer-funded allowance of up to £115,000 a year after stepping down after just 44 days in office.
The Public Service Expense Allowance (PDCA) was introduced in 1991 following the departure of Margaret Thatcher to “help former prime ministers still active in public life”.
A London-based removal van outside Whitehall after Rishi Sunak was confirmed as Britain’s youngest ever Prime Minister yesterday
Liz Truss, pictured leaving Downing Street on Friday, used Checkers for a series of farewell parties over the weekend
A Downing Street source has revealed the Prime Minister – at his own expense – gathered MPs and staff at the 16th century mansion in Buckinghamshire to thank them.
They are entitled to the money for the rest of their life, unless they take up another public office.
Former PMs must provide supporting documents – such as staff salary details or travel receipts – in order to receive the money.
Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer said it would be ‘the right thing to do’ for Miss Truss not to seek any compensation.
He added: “She’s done 44 days in office, she’s not really entitled to it, she should turn it down and not take it.”
Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have been accused of hypocrisy after they asked Miss Truss to refuse the £115,000 annual stipend – despite their former leader Sir Nick Clegg claiming it for four years after the annihilation of his party in 2015.
Sir Tony Blair still claims the full allowance despite being a millionaire. A Tory MP said: ‘The hypocrisy of the left is always breathtaking. He knows no limits.
