PM in crony row as chum Catherine Meyer is among nine new Tory peers
The PM honoured Catherine Meyer alongside the allies and advisers who will each cost taxpayers around £30,000 a year in expenses and attendance fees
THERESA May was accused of cronyism yesterday after appointing her best pal among nine new Tory peers.
The PM honoured Catherine Meyer alongside the allies and advisers who will each cost taxpayers around £30,000 a year in expenses and attendance fees.
Lady Meyer has previously praised Mrs May’s “profound humanity” and “courage”.
It was a U-turn by Mrs May, who has twice previously swerved the chance to appoint peers in contrast to predecessor David Cameron who stuffed the Lords with chums.
Also ennobled were former Tory MPs Peter Lilley and Sir Eric Pickles.
Labour chief Jeremy Corbyn named three peers including activist Martha Osamor, who has defended far-Left anti-Semites. Her daughter is a Labour MP.
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Darren Hughes, of the Electoral Reform Society, called the appointments “beyond a joke”.
He said: “If Mrs May was serious about reducing the cost of politics she would halt these appointments rather than providing yet more fuel for public concern about cronyism.”
Gideon Falter, of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, said Mr Corbyn had “yet again . . . sent the Jewish community a two-fingered salute” by honouring Ms Osamor.
Who are the new members of the House of Lords?
NEW TORY PEERS
Sir Eric Pickles, 66, was MP for Brentwood and Ongar for 25 years before he stood down last year.
Known for his jolly demeanour, he previously served as Tory chairman and then Communities Secretary under David Cameron.
Sir John Randall, 62, retired as MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip in 2015, handing the seat over to Boris Johnson.
He was Deputy Chief Whip from 2010 to 2013, having previously resigned his office over the Iraq War.
Andrew Tyrie, 61, became one of Parliament's fiercest attack dogs as chairman of the Treasury select committee, interrogating ministers and business chiefs.
He spent 18 years in the Commons but stood down last year, and now chairs the Competition and Markets Authority.
Catherine Meyer, 65, is a close friend of Theresa May after the pair bonded over charity work.
She is now married to ex-US ambassador Sir Christopher Meyer - but previously experienced family trauma when her first husband abducted their children and took them to Germany for nine years.
Peter Lilley, 74, was once tipped for the highest office after serving in John Major's Shadow Cabinet and becoming Shadow Chancellor, but ended up spending 18 years on the back benches.
His peerage nomination was thrown into jeopardy when he was caught up in an attempted lobbying sting by Channel 4 earlier this year.
Diana Barran, 59, founded the charity SafeLives, which helps survivors of domestic abuse and their children.
She previously worked at a hedge fund and is now a trustee of Comic Relief.
Sir Edward Garnier, 65, was Solicitor General from 2010 to 2012, having worked as a barrister representing politicians including Edwina Currie.
He retired from the Commons last year after 25 years as MP for Harborough.
Sir Alan Haselhurst, 80, spent a total of 44 years in the House of Commons, serving as Deputy Speaker for 13 of them.
The Oxford-educated Tory is a cricket obsessive and hails from the pro-EU wing of the party.
Amanda Sater is a charity campaigner who until recently served as deputy chairman of the Conservatives.
She has been involved in Women2Win, the Tory women's group set up by Theresa May.
NEW LABOUR PEERS
Martha Osamor, 77, has been active on the left of Labour for decades - but was blocking from standing for Parliament because her views were too extreme.
The activist, whose daughter Kate is in Jeremy Corbyn's Shadow Cabinet, recently defended the anti-Semites who were thrown out of Labour because of their bigotry.
Iain McNicol, 48, quit as Labour's general secretary in March after seven years in the job.
Despite his trade union background, he is seen as relatively moderate and is hated by many Corbynistas.
Pauline Bryan is a far-left campaigner from Scotland described as a "massive full-on Trot" by Scottish Labour sources.
She worked on Mr Corbyn's leadership campaign - and once published a socialist manifesto which called for the abolition of the House of Lords, the monarchy and private banks.
NEW DUP PEER
William McCrea, 69, is a Protestant minister who spent 25 years in the House of Commons and 12 years in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
He is a former loyalist volunteer who was once convicted of rioting - and also a gospel singer.
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