U.K. PM Sunak hits out at Boris Johnson on honours list row

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday slammed former premier Boris Johnson for asking him to overrule a panel vetting his resignation list appointments to the House of Lords, saying it was “something I wasn’t prepared to do”.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday slammed former premier Boris Johnson for asking him to overrule a panel vetting his resignation list appointments to the House of Lords, saying it was "something I wasn't prepared to do".

The British-Indian leader's comment at a public function stemmed from a long-running row over Mr. Johnson's honours list, and specifically the list of people he wanted to award peerages to.

Mr. Johnson's long-awaited honours list, approved nine months after he resigned as prime minister, included 38 honours and seven peerages. The resignation honours list is a tradition that allows outgoing prime ministers to nominate people for honours.

As a departing prime minister, Mr. Johnson has the right to nominate people for seats in the House of Lords, and for other honours such as knighthoods.

By convention, current prime ministers pass on the list of nominees to the House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC).

The list of new peerages did not include many of the former Conservative party leader's nominees. Just three hours after its publication, Mr. Johnson stepped down as an MP late on Friday and furiously attacked Mr. Sunak's agenda.

In his first public response to the row, Mr. Sunak on Monday accused Mr. Johnson of asking him to overrule the House of Lords Appointment Commission and wave through the rejected nominees.