Liz Truss ‘planning knighthoods and other awards for up to dozen allies’

Liz Truss is believed to be planning to hand out knighthoods and other awards to up to 12 of her allies following her short-lived premiership.

Close supporters who helped orchestrate the former prime minister’s leadership bid are among those put forward for resignation honours, the Sun on Sunday reported.

Kwasi Kwarteng – who presided over the disastrous mini-Budget that helped sink her short-lived premiership – has not made the list, according to the paper.

Ms Truss, whose 49 days in Downing Street made her the shortest-serving prime minister in British political history, is reportedly also recommending putting forward former aides and backers for peerages.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats have called on her successor Rishi Sunak to cancel the nominations, with Angela Rayner branding it a “list of shame” coming after Ms Truss “took a wrecking ball to the economy”.

Opposition MPs have also urged the Prime Minister to block Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list, which has still not been announced but is reported to include dozens of proposed recipients.

The Sunday Times reported Mr Johnson wanted to speak to Mr Sunak in a phone call in the coming days about the matter, but No 10 has said it has been made clear that it would not be appropriate to discuss honours during the conversation.

Deputy Labour leader Ms Rayner said: “Liz Truss and her Conservative co-conspirators took a wrecking ball to the economy in a disastrous six-week premiership that has left millions facing mortgage misery, but Rishi Sunak now looks set to allow her to hand out these obscene rewards for failure.

“If this Prime Minister was serious about the integrity he promised, he would be point blank refusing to rubber stamp Liz Truss’s list of shame.

“Instead of approving undeserved honours and lifetime golden goodbyes for her cheerleaders, he should be demanding the public apology she has refused to provide.”