Former prime minister David Cameron’s farewell honours list is being held up because Whitehall is reportedly refusing to sign off on several of the nominations.
According to The Times, the Cabinet Office has raised ethical concerns about some of the names put forward, while the Appointments Commission must also approve any places in the House of Lords.
There are rumours that several of his closest aides from his time in No 10 are in line for peerages, including chief of staff Ed Llewellyn and head of the policy unit Camilla Cavendish.
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A source told the newspaper: “David Cameron put forward a number of names. Some of them did not even make it past the first hurdle – the Cabinet Office.
“Cameron’s surviving team are having a series of difficult discussions with them to try and get through as many as possible.”
A separate source added: “Given Cameron is well aware of what is involved it should come as no surprise that they are running into difficulties and it is pretty brazen of him to have tried in the first place.”
Labour MP John Mann said the report, coupled with Cameron’s decision to push through an extra pay-off to some special advisers as he left Downing Street, called into question the morality of the list.
“It’s hugely embarrassing for David Cameron and it raises lots of ethical questions that there has been this delay,” he said.
“There must obviously be a reason for the delay – and a good one.
“The fact that his special advisers got this huge unprecedented payoff when everyone else is having pay freezes shows that his exit from No 10 is not turning out to be very dignified at all.”
No 10 did not comment on the story.