Boris Johnson facing new cronyism row as he elevates City tycoon Tory donor to the House of Lords

Boris Johnson was at the centre of a new cronyism row today after he overruled official advice to appoint a wealthy City financier and Tory donor to the House of Lords.

Peter Cruddas, 62, who is also a former co-treasurer of the Conservative party, was one of 16 newly appointed peers revealed in a list yesterday.

However, the founder of the City spreads betting company CMC Markets, was the only one whose elevation to the Upper House was opposed by the independent Lords Appointment Commission.

Mr Cruddas, who has donated £3.3 million to the Tory party, as well as £1.5 million to the Vote Leave campaign, resigned from his political post in 2012 after the Sunday Times claimed he was offering access to the then Prime Minister David Cameron.

He successfully sued for libel although his damages were reduced when the newspaper appealed.

In a letter to the chair of the commission Lord Bew explaining his decision to ignore its recommendation Mr Johnson said “the events in question date back eight years and the Commission has found no evidence of any matters of concerns before or since that time.”

It added that Mr Cruddas “ has made outstanding contributions in the charitable sector and in business and has continued his long track record of committed political service.”

Mr Cruddas, who is estimated to be worth £860 million, donated £50,000 to Mr Johnson’s Tory party leadership campaign in 2019 saying “I think we need a Brexiteer as our next Prime Minister.”

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said: "After months of revelations about the cronyism at the heart of this government, it's somehow appropriate the prime minister has chosen to end the year with a peerage to Peter Cruddas."

She added that there was "one rule for the Conservatives and their chums, another for the rest of the country".

Professor Meg Russell, director of the research group the Constitution Unit, described the new round of appointments as “outrageous” and said Mr Johnson had “openly flouted” the recommendation of the Commission, in what she said was “the first time in its 20 year-year existence that any Prime Minister has done so.”

The only near precedent was in 2009 when the Commission raised concerns about ennobling former Commons Speaker Michael Martin, although it did not recommend blocking the move. Then Prime Minister Gordon Brown went ahead with the appointment.