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Boris Johnson overruled the advice of a standards watchdog to nominate a key Conservative donor for a place in the House of Lords.
A letter from the U.K. prime minister — published Tuesday alongside a slew of political nominations to the country’s upper lawmaking chamber — shows Johnson decided to press ahead with nominating Peter Cruddas despite concerns raised by the House of Lords Appointments Commission.
Financier Cruddas served as Conservative co-treasurer under then-Prime Minister David Cameron, but resigned in 2012 following a cash-for-access story in the Sunday Times.
He subsequently won £180,000 in libel damages from the paper, although that amount was reduced on appeal. Cruddas was one of the founders of the 2016 pro-Brexit Vote Leave campaign, and has donated millions to the Conservative party alongside his philanthropic work.
A letter from Johnson to Lords Appointments Commissioner Paul Bew — who can advise against a nomination but not block it — acknowledged the watchdog had been “unable to support the nomination” because of “historic concerns in respect of allegations made during Mr Cruddas’ term as treasurer of the Conservative party.”
But the prime minister said “the most serious accusations leveled were found to be untrue and libelous,” pointing out that Cruddas “resigned from his post, and offered an apology for any impression of impropriety” in 2012. An internal Conservative party investigation, Johnson said, “subsequently found that there had been no intentional wrongdoing on Mr Cruddas’ part.”
Flagging Cruddas’s “outstanding contributions in the charitable sector and in business,” Johnson said the party donor had been “born without the advantages of many of those in the House of Lords;” pointed to his “broad range of experiences and insights across the charitable, business and political sectors;” and concluded, “on this basis, it is my intention to recommend his appointment” to the Lords.
The move marks the first time that a British prime minister has opted not to follow the advice of the Lords Appointments Commission, according to a separate letter to a parliamentary committee published by Bew’s office Tuesday.
Johnson’s decision became public as a host of Conservative former members of the European Parliament were nominated for peerages.
They include Brexiteers Daniel Hannan, the former MEP for South East England; Syed Kamall, ex-Conservative Leader in the European Parliament; and Kamall’s former deputy, Jacqueline Foster.
