David Cameron honours row: Gavin Williamson to become CBE in controversial list
Gavin Williamson is set to receive a CBE as one of David Cameron's final acts as Prime Minister, in an honours list described as a 'roll of despair' and 'perverse' by one senior Tory.
The Government's Chief Whip and South Staffordshire MP is among 48 names suggested for honours in the leaked list, which also includes former Cannock miner Patrick McLoughlin.
But the list, which features several senior figures who backed the failed Remain campaign in the EU referendum, has provoked outrage from Tories from the Leave side.
Meanwhile Labour MPs have accused Mr Cameron of rewarding his old pals, with one Black Country MP saying he was 'dishing out honours like sweets to his friends and flunkeys'.
Mr Williamson served as Mr Cameron's parliamentary private secretary for three years before marshalling Theresa May's rise to Number 10.
His role as Chief Whip means that he is also the Government's patronage secretary, although he would not be able to pass judgement on an honours list featuring his name.
Tory party chairman Mr McLoughlin, who was born in Stafford and was Chief Whip and then Transport Secretary under Mr Cameron, has been put forward for a knighthood.
The list is top heavy with some of the biggest names from Remain, including former Chancellor George Osborne, Philip Hammond, Michael Fallon, David Lidington, and campaign leader Will Straw.
Staunch Eurosceptic Sir Bill Cash, the MP for Stone, said: "I would describe it as a roll of despair.
"The British people gave a clear verdict in the EU referendum and for them to see those on the losing side being rewarded for failure seems perverse.
"It looks to me like this is David Cameron's final gesture of defiance."
Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson said the honours list was an example of the worst of the 'old boy's network'.
He said: "That Mr Cameron proposes to reward his friends network on such a huge scale will not only bring the honours system into disrepute, it will undermine the reputation of Theresa May.
"It's cronyism, pure and simple and proof the Tories will always put their own interests before those of the country."
Dudley North MP Ian Austin said: "It is unbelievable. David Cameron is dishing out honours like sweets to his friends and flunkeys.
"The only thing that surprises me is that he hasn't given one to Larry, the Downing Street cat."
Mrs May said she would not intervene over the list as it would 'set a very bad precedent'.
