Nadine Dorries has claimed “posh boys” Rishi Sunak and his close friend and adviser James Forsyth were the key players behind the move to block her from getting a peerage.
The ex-culture secretary used an interview with TalkTV, for whom she also works as a presenter, to accuse the PM of using “weasel words” and “sophistry” in a meeting with Mr Johnson last week.
She said Mr Sunak “duplicitously and cruelly” led Mr Johnson to believe that his full honours list would be accepted.
“I’m broken-hearted, not just for me but for everyone who comes from a background like mine”, she said.
Among those entering the House of Lords as part of Boris Johnson’s resignation honours are former London mayoral candidate Sean Bailey, Conservative Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen and former No 10 chief of staff Dan Rosenfield.
COP26 President Alok Sharma, Nadine Dorries and ex-minister Nigel Adams were not on the list. Ms Dorries and Mr Adams have now resigned their seats in indignation.
Commenting on the prospect of the new intake to the upper chamber, former Labour minister Lord Foulkes of Cumnock told parliament yesterday: “We will have an influx of new talent into this House — all of whom, sadly, appallingly and disgracefully, will be Conservative members, with no new opposition peers at all”.
Lord Foulkes accused Mr Johnson of “bullying the prime minister” into accepting the resignation honours.
“This list, put forward by Mr Boris Johnson, who bullied the prime minister into accepting it, is very interesting in many ways”, he said.
Yesterday, Mr Johnson accused the prime minister of “talking rubbish” over his House of Lords nominations. He said: “To honour these peerages it was not necessary to overrule HOLAC — but simply to ask them to renew their vetting, which was a mere formality”.
It came after Rishi Sunak said: “Boris Johnson asked me to do something that I wasn’t prepared to do, because I didn’t think it was right. That was either overrule the Holac [House of Lords Appointments Commission] committee, or make promises to people.
“Now, I wasn’t prepared to do that, so I didn’t think he was right. And if people don’t like that then tough”.
Now, Mr Johnson has promised to make a return to the political frontline, quoting Arnold Schwarzenegger from the film The Terminator.
“I’ll be back”, the ex-PM said in comments to The Express newspaper.
He also said: “We must fully deliver on Brexit and on the 2019 manifesto. We must smash Labour at the next election. Nothing less than absolute victory and total Brexit will do”.
Mr Johnson will reportedly be found on Wednesday to have deliberately misled MPs over parties in Downing Street during the pandemic.
According to the Times, the privileges committee has rejected the former prime minister’s defence that senior officials advised him Covid rules and guidance had been followed in No 10.
