Boris Johnson could present yet another headache for Rishi Sunak - with the PM made to decide whether to block a string of controversial peerages and honours.
Since he left No10 in disgrace last year, Mr Johnson's long-awaited resignation honours list has been the subject of intense speculation.
Today, bombshell claims emerged that the shameless former Prime Minister wants to give a knighthood to his DAD Stanley.
It is rumoured that several other divisive figures make up a 100-strong list that is working its way through scrutiny, with Mr Sunak potentially facing an awkward head-to-head with his old boss over some of the names.
Wealthy donors and a top Tory whose firm has been accused of selling access to Prince Charles and boasting of links to “Russian elites” are also believed to be in line for honours.
Mr Johnson has also taken the unusual step of proposing four sitting MPs for crony peerages, including mega-fan Nadine Dorries, Scotland Secretary Alister Jack, ex-Cop26 President Alok Sharma and former minister Nigel Adams.
Outgoing Prime Ministers are permitted to name people they wish to be awarded peerages - a practice which has been controversial pretty much as long as it's existed.
But nearly six months after his departure following a huge rebellion within his own ranks, the full list - which is said to include 100 names - has still yet to be released.
Here we look at some of the people linked with peerages and honours.
Stanley Johnson
Unsurprisingly, the suggestion that the former PM might award a knighthood to his DAD has proved controversial.
Stanley Johnson, a former MEP who appeared on ' I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here' in 2017, has previously been accused by a biographer of breaking his ex-wife's nose.
And last year, senior Tory MP Caroline Nokes publicly accused him of inappropriate behaviour at Conservative party conferences.
Ms Nokes, chairwoman of the Commons Women and Equalities Committee, accused Stanley Johnson of smacking her on the bottom and saying "you've got a lovely seat" in 2003.
Stanley Johnson said after that he had "no recollection" of either incident.
Keir Starmer said the public would find the reports "absolutely outrageous".
The Labour leader told LBC: "The idea that Boris Johnson is nominating his dad for a knighthood - you only need to say it to realise just how ridiculous it is.
"It's classic of a man like Johnson. I mean, I think the public will just think this is absolutely outrageous."
He added: "The idea of an ex-prime minister bestowing honours on his dad - for services to what?"
A spokesperson for the Mr Johnson said: "We don't comment on honours."
Ben Elliot
Millionaire former party co-chairman Ben Elliot - the Duchess of Cornwall’s nephew - is co-owner of luxury concierge firm Quintessentially, which came under fire in March for having boasted of its links to the “Russian elite.”
A source said Mr Elliot was being considered for a peerage, for which he would have to undergo HOLAC vetting.
But a source said Mr Elliot is set for a knighthood if his peerage is rejected by the committee, as that would “only have to get through the Cabinet Office.”
Mr Elliot’s firm, Quintessentially, was accused in August of introducing clients of the firm to Prince Charles after they spent £15,000 on a top-tier membership to the service.
At the time, a spokesperson said the meeting with Prince Charles was “entirely about helping to raise money for charity.”
Following outrage after the invasion of Ukraine, Quintessentially closed its Russian office and Russian language website - with a spokesperson saying the firm was “were in effect out of Russia ”.
John Gore
Bahamas-based theatre producer John Gore is another name previously linked with a gong.
Mr Gore, who has donated more than £4.2 million to the Tory Party, is a former member of Mr Johnson's "advisory committee".
The theatre impresario, whose firm produced Tony Award-winning Broadway musicals such as Dear Evan Hansen and Angels in America, has become one of the Conservative Party’s biggest donors.
In a 2019 interview, he told the Sunday Times he moved to the Caribbean paradise for “a decade ago” - and was a neighbour of the late Sir Sean Connery.
“I have chosen to stick my head into the mad world of politics when it is at its maddest," he told The Sunday Times - admitting that he sought to use his cash to change British politics from the outside.
He said: “I am a British citizen with an outside eye. It's not unlike being a director.
“I can see this show is really going wrong — that it's going to crash. I hope I can do something to get it back into shape and help it flourish."
David Ross
A peerage is also said to be due to Carphone Warehouse co-founder David Ross, a Tory donor who funded Mr Johnson’s 2020 holiday to Mustique.
Mr Johnson and then-fiancee Carrie holidayed in a £15,000 luxury villa on the island of Mustique “facilitated” by Tory donor Mr Ross over New Year 2019/2020.
The island’s management company paid the owners of the villa in which the couple stayed, and Ross subsequently reimbursed them.
The PM was criticised over the holiday but he was cleared of breaching the MPs’ code of conduct.
Ross Kempsell
Mr Johnson's reported tennis partner, Ross Kempsell was a former aide to the PM after working as political editor at Rupert Murdoch's TalkRadio and Times Radio.
He was the Tory Party's political director between 2020 an 2022, having previously carried out a famous interview in which Mr Johnson spoke of his love of painting miniature buses.
Mr Kempsell is understood to be a close friend of the former Prime Minister and his wife Carrie.
If accepted Mr Kempsell, 30, would become one of the youngest figures ever to be given a life peerage.
Charlotte Owen
Another former No10 aide said to be in line for a peerage, Ms Owen spent 18 months in the No10 Policy Unit under Mr Johnson and Liz Truss.
Last year The Telegraph reported that the House of Lords Appointments Commission (Holac) committee was "unimpressed" with Ms Owen's nomination at the age of 27.
But it has no power to scupper it, meaning it would fall to Mr Sunak to do so if he fancies a scrap with his former boss.
Ms Owen worked as a parliamentary aide to Mr Johnson, as well as working for Jake Berry and Alok Sharma - both fierce allies of the former PM.
Nadine Dorries
One of the most divisive politicians of the Boris Johnson era, Ms Dorries needs little introduction.
She remains one of his most steadfast allies, and has continued to maintain that her colleagues were wrong to ditch him.
Last week The Mirror reported there were calls for her to step down after it emerged she had not spoken in the Commons for nearly eight months after leaving the Cabinet.
Ms Dorries, who served as culture secretary between 2021 and last year, is Mr Johnson's most steadfast ally - this month claiming Tories should bring him back 'or die '.
She refused to turn on him after he became mired in a number of scandals, and repeatedly claimed he had been stabbed in the back as his party turned on him.
In a bitter attack on current PM Rishi Sunak, she said: "With Rishi in No10, we are heading into the long, cold and brutal wasteland of thankless opposition".
Alok Sharma
Former Cop26 president is another prominent supporter of Mr Johnson, having backed him to return to No10 after Liz Truss's premiership unravelled.
He has been an MP since 2010, and was appointed as Business Secretary in Mr Johnson's cabinet in 2020.
Mr Sharma was knighted in the 2023 New Years Honours for services to tackling climate change.
Alister Jack
One of the few cabinet members to have served under Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, Mr Jack is currently Secretary of State for Scotland.
Back in November, when reports of Mr Jack's mooted nomination first emerged, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland Ian Murray MP said: “With Labour ready to replace this rotten Tory government, it’s little wonder that ministers are desperately looking for an escape route.
“But if Tory politicians had any confidence in their shameful record they would stand in front of the people and defend it in a general election now.”
Nigel Adams
Nigel Adams was one of Mr Johnson's staunchest allies as his leadership collapsed last summer.
Mr Adams, formerly a minister without portfolio in the cabinet office, has said he intends to step down at the next election.
He spoke up in favour of Mr Johnson after Ms Truss quit, stating: "He is the only candidate that has a mandate from the British public having won a landslide election victory less than three years ago.
"If any other candidate takes over, the calls for an early general election will be deafening."
Shaun Bailey
Shaun Bailey is one of the few Tories to have faced any consequences for allegedly breaking Covid rules after being pictured at a party while London was under tier 2 restrictions.
The former London mayoral candidate is a controversial figure, having said people would spend a basic income on “lots of drugs”.
Mr Bailey resigned as chairman of the London Assembly’s police and crime committee after being photoed with more than 20 others, including campaign staff, at a time when indoor mixing between households was banned.
After his name was linked with a peerage, London mayor Sadiq Khan said last year: "This is a slap in the face to all those who lost their lives during the pandemic.
"It's a slap in the face for those who respected the law, all those families who couldn't grieve at funerals or celebrate big birthdays or weddings. The idea that somebody who plays a role in making the law and is alleged to have broken the law can now be rewarded by a seat in the House of Lords beggars belief."
Dan Rosenfield
Mr Johnson's former chief of staff is another name linked with a peerage in the ex-PM's list.
He resigned in February last year as pressure mounted over the Partygate scandal, and was replaced by MP Steve Barclay - who is now Rishi Sunak's Health Secretary.
In December The Times reported that allegations of bullying against Mr Rosenfield could prevent him being elevated, but his allies described this as "laughable".
The Cabinet Office has said that no complaints were made against him while he was working in Downing Street.
