Rishi Sunak is under fire for handing a knighthood to a major Tory donor who gave £5m to the Conservative Party last year.
The prime minister has been branded “arrogant” and “self-indulgent” by Labour, while senior Tory Will Wragg accused Mr Sunak of setting a “dangerous precedent”.
Businessman Mohamed Mansour, who is a senior treasurer at the party and a former Egyptian government minister, was knighted for business, charity and political service.
Sources at No 10 pointed to Mr Mansour’s support for The Prince’s Foundation – now The King’s Foundation – and a major contributor to St Paul’s Cathedral’s Remember Me project, which raised money for a physical memorial to those who died of Covid-19 in the UK.
But Labour Party chair Anneliese Dodds hit out at the prime minister for recommending the honour.
She said: “This is either the arrogant act of an entitled man who’s stopped caring what the public thinks, or the demob-happy self-indulgence of someone who doesn’t expect to be prime minister much longer.
“Either way, it shows a blatant disrespect for the office he should feel privileged to hold.”
Meanwhile Mr Wragg, vice-chairman of the powerful 1922 Committee of backbench MPs, said: “The awarding of a knighthood to someone who lied to the Prime Minister’s ethics advisor sets a dangerous precedent.”
And Richard Tice, the leader of Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform UK challenger party, said it stinks of “toxic Tory cronyism”. Mr Tice said: “Toxic Tory cronyism continues. The nation is sick of it.
“The whole thing stinks like rotting fish, from the head.”
The timing of the announcement, while parliament is in recess and on the eve of the Easter bank holiday weekend, has also raised eyebrows – although sources said the timing of the honours was linked to the need to make appointments to the Privy Council, including the new first minister of Wales Vaughan Gething.
Other recipients of honours include Philip Davies – whose wife is the government’s “common sense” minister Esther McVey – who has been knighted for public and parliamentary service.
Former sports minister Tracey Crouch, who led a review of football governance in the wake of proposals for a breakaway European Super League, has been given a damehood for public and parliamentary service.
Farming minister Mark Spencer has also been given a knighthood, while Treasury select committee chair Harriett Baldwin becomes a dame.
Democratic Unionist Party MP Gregor Campbell has also been made a CBE.
Reform UK leader Richard Tice said the honour for the Tories’ biggest donor was ‘toxic’
The prime minister recommended the honours to the King.
Sir Philip, the MP for Shipley in West Yorkshire since 2005, said: “Obviously I’m absolutely delighted. I’m somewhat flabbergasted as well, to be honest. It feels very surreal and I’m somewhat in shock.”
He added: “I’m just immensely grateful to everybody who has enabled it to happen.”
Sir Philip has hosted a GB News show with wife Esther McVey until she gave up the presenting role to return to government as minister without portfolio in November last year.
Anneliese Dodds said the PM was ‘arrogant’ or simply ‘does not expect to be in post much longer’
