Jacob Rees-Mogg has been awarded a knighthood by his close friend, Boris Johnson.
The former cabinet minister becomes a ‘Sir’ in the former prime minister’s birthday honours list.
Other Johnson allies to receive gongs include Priti Patel and Andrea Jenkyns, who become dames, and Simon Clarke, Conor Burns and Michael Fabricant, who also get knighthoods.
Meanwhile, Johnson’s press spokesman, Ross Kempsell, is to receive a peerage and will enter the House of Lords, along with Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen and former London mayoral candidate, Shaun Bailey.
Other names on the list included former No.10 communications director Guto Harri, who was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and Johnson’s parliamentary hairdresser, Kelly Jo Dodge, who becomes a Member of the Order of the British Empire.
However, there was no peerage for Nadine Dorries, who had been tipped to receive one.
It is understood that is why she dramatically quit as an MP just an hour before the honours list was published - triggering a crunch by-election in her Mid-Bedfordshire seat.
There were also gongs for Downing Street aides who became embroiled in the partygate scandal, including Martin Reynolds - the former principal private secretary who organised the infamous “bring your own booze” party in No10 during lockdown - and ex-spin doctor Jack Doyle.
One senior Tory MP told HuffPost UK: “It’s a complete fucking disgrace and an embarrassment.”
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said: “Instead of tackling the cost-of-living crisis, the Tories are spending their time doling out rewards for those who tried to cover up rule-breaking and toadied to a disgraced former prime minister.
“It’s a sickening insult that those who planned Covid parties and held boozy lockdown bashes while families were unable to mourn loved ones are now set to be handed gongs by Rishi Sunak.
“As Boris Johnson faces yet more allegations and investigations about his conduct, the privilege of an honours list is spectacularly ill-judged and wholly undeserved.
“It’s shameful that Rishi Sunak has failed to stand up to his former boss’s outrageous demands and agreed to hand out prizes to this carousel of cronies.
“He promised integrity, but this weak Prime Minister is once again showing his appalling judgement by doing Boris Johnson’s bidding.”
Lord Newby, the Lib Dem leader in the Lords, said: “This is a clear failure of leadership from Rishi Sunak. His promise to govern with integrity has been utterly broken.
“Boris Johnson caused crisis after crisis in this country. His lack of honour means he didn’t deserve an honours list in the first place.
“Yet Sunak has caved in, rewarding Johnson for his reckless behaviour as Prime Minister. The British public will be outraged at this out of touch decision.
“Rishi Sunak needs to come before Parliament immediately to justify his cowardly failure to block Boris Johnson’s Honours list.”
A Downing Street spokesperson said the PM “had no involvement or input” into the list.