Tories attack Labour's Honours Nominees

Sources close to the Leader of the Opposition William Hague have accused Tony Blair of going back on comments he had made while in opposition. The claims were dismissed by Labour.

BBC Political Correspondent Jon Sopel reports Dur: 1'12"

The Tories are expressing particular concern about the millionaire businessmen Michael Levy -- a key fundraiser for the election campaign -- who has become a peer.

There are doubts, too, over the elevation of Roy Hughes, whose vacant seat was won by the Tory defector, Alan Howarth.

But Labour sources say that all of their nominees are working peers -- only the Conservatives use the honours system as a way of paying back political favours.

Major's Resignation List Honours Loyalty

Major rewards the famous and not so famous

Tony Blair has chosen 31 new Labour peers. In a further step towards reversing the Tory domination of the House of Lords, the newly enobled include crime writer Ruth Rendell and film producer Sir David Puttnam.

There are also 11 new Liberal Democrat working peers, and 15 new Tories - 10 of them named by Mr Major in his resignation honours, and five working peers.

The new peers come from the world of politics, the unions, big business, the law and the arts. Helena Kennedy QC, the high profile, left-wing barrister, becomes a Labour peer, while Emma Nicholson, the former Tory MP who switched to Paddy Ashdown's party, is rewarded by the Liberal Democrats with a peerage.

All the new Tory peers are ex-MPs, apart from Norman Blackwell, former head of the Downing Street policy unit.

In his farewell honours, seen as a personal list rewarding loyalty, Mr Major has bestowed awards on a wide range of his closest political allies, a consolation prize for some of those who lost their seats at the election. He has also remembered staff at Conservative Central Office, Downing Street and in his Huntingdon constituency association.

Peerage for Lang

As expected, he delivered an apparent snub to former Chancellor Norman Lamont, an ally who turned into one of his fiercest critics, by failing to given him any kind of honour at all.

But peerages go to:

• Ian Lang - the former President of the Board of Trade
• Tony Newton - the former leader of the Commons
• Roger Freeman - former Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
• David Hunt - former Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
• Dame Janet Fookes - former deputy Speaker
• Lord James Douglas-Hamilton - former minister
• Sir Terence Higgins - former minister
• Sir Cranley Onslow - of the backbench 1922 Committee
• Dame Jill Knight - another 1922 leading light

Knighthoods have gone to:

• Malcolm Rifkind - former Foreign Secretary
• Alastair Goodlad - former Chief Whip
• Brian Mawhinney - the former Tory Party chairman
• Michael Forsyth - the former Scottish Secretary
• Richard Needham - a former minister
• Robert Atkins - another former minister
• Neville Trotter - a former MP
• John Ward - Mr Major's former parliamentary private secretary
• Jeremy Hanley - a former party chairman

The decision to give some of the ex-MPs knighthoods instead of peerages may be because they wish to return to the Commons if they can find seats. This could also be the reason why Mr Major's friend Chris Patten, the former Governor of Hong Kong, is not on the list.

Heseltine becomes Companion of Honour

Former Deputy Premier Michael Heseltine is given the high accolade of a Companion of Honour.

Humbler staff receive MBEs including:

• Lorne Roper-Caldbeck - Norma Major's secretary
• Michael York - Mr Major's former messenger at Downing Street
• Robert Rumble - Mr Major's driver
• Christine Ferns - the Downing Street switchboard supervisor
• Maureen Bick - Mr Major's office cleaner at Number 10

In spite of the party's devastating May 1 defeat, there are awards for a number of staff at Conservative Central Office. Anthony Garrett, the director of the campaigning department, gets a knighthood. Tory "spin doctor" Charles Lewington, the ex-director of communications, and Daniel Finkelstein, the director of research, receive OBEs.

• Bryan Davies
• Peter Hardy
• Norman Hogg
• Robert Hughes
• Greville Janner
• Alf Morris
• Stan Orme
• Stuart Randall
• Sir Harold Walker
• Michael Watson.

Steven Bassam, the colourful leader of Brighton and Hove Council who is a former squatter and was once thrown out of court for wearing a flashing red nose, is also on the list.

Union appointees include Tom Burlison, Labour party treasurer and deputy general secretary of the GMB general union, Garfield Davies, of the USDAW shop workers' union, and joint general secretary of the Public Services Tax and Commerce Union.

New Liberal Democrat working peers include:

• Diana Maddock - who lost her seat at the election
• Sir Michael Sandberg - a banker
• Sarah Ludford - a party activist
• Sir William Goodhart, QC - a barrister and Islington Councillor
• Richard Newby - part of the party's general election team
• Timothy Razzall - party treasurer

The five new Tory working peers are:

• Sir John Cope - the former Paymaster General
• Tristan Garel-Jones - a former Foreign Office minister
• Michael Morris - a former deputy Speaker
• Sir Hector Monro - an ex-minister
• Sir Wyn Roberts - another ex-minister

Even with the addition of this latest batch of Labour lords, there will still be an inbuilt Tory majority: 327 Conservative hereditary peers to Labour's 15; 152 Tory life peers compared with 111 Labour.