Rishi Sunak is furious at Boris Johnson’s attempt to secure his father a knighthood and jokes that he would only give his father a ticket.
The honor roll due to the resignation of the former prime minister is currently under scrutiny after its original length of more than 100 names was reportedly halved.
Stanley Johnson, a former Conservative MEP who has been a vocal defender of his son in recent years, was nominated for a knighthood as part of the list.
Traditionally, the new prime minister has not sought to change his predecessor’s resignation, and the current government declined to comment on the contents of Mr. Johnson’s list.
Asked if he agreed with the former prime minister’s proposal to knight his father, Mr. Sunak said: “For me, the idea of giving my father a card on Father’s Day is a huge accomplishment, so it’s probably my limit.”
He added: “There are always comments and speculation about honor rolls up front. I will not speculate. I don’t see these things until I see them, so it’s hard for me to say more. My dad gets a card for Father’s Day and that’s it.”
Robert Jenrick, an immigration secretary who is one of Mr. Sunak’s closest associates, has slammed Mr. Johnson’s honor roll in a sign that the government is not happy with him.
On BBC Question Time, he said: “It is unwise for a former prime minister to appoint members of his family to honorary titles.”
Mr. Johnson was originally reported to have called for up to 100 nominees for peerage, knighthood and other honors, but that number has now been reduced to about half that number.
He is widely believed to have offered seats in the House of Lords to key MPs, including Scottish Secretary Alistair Jack and former cabinet ministers Alok Sharma, Nadine Dorris and Nigel Adams.
When he was 10 years old, Johnson granted a peerage to his brother Joe, a former Conservative MP and minister.