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Jeremy Hunt, the former UK Conservative chancellor who dealt with the economic fallout of Liz Truss’s “mini” Budget, has been given a knighthood in Rishi Sunak’s resignation honours list.
Hunt joins a number of ex-Tory ministers to be given gongs on Friday.
James Cleverly, foreign secretary and home secretary during Sunak’s short term as prime minister, was awarded a knighthood, along with Andrew Mitchell, former international development secretary.
Sunak, who succeeded Truss as prime minister and was in office between October 2022 and his election defeat in July 2024, has also used his resignation honours list to reward fellow Brexiters.
Theresa Villiers, former Northern Ireland secretary and a leading Leave campaigner, was appointed a dame in the list, which has to be signed off by Buckingham Palace before it is published.
The Financial Times reported on Thursday that Michael Gove, another leading Leave campaigner and veteran cabinet minister, was one of a number of senior Tories awarded a peerage in the honours list.
Ex-chief whip Simon Hart, who recently wrote a colourful memoir about the breakdown of Tory discipline under Sunak and his predecessors, and former Scottish secretary Sir Alister Jack were given seats in the House of Lords.
It is a long-standing tradition for outgoing prime ministers to be able to award peerages — and other gongs — to key political allies, donors and staff.
Hunt, who was previously health secretary and twice stood unsuccessfully for the Conservative leadership, was brought in by Truss to stabilise the markets after the “mini” Budget of September 2022, which set out £45bn of unfunded tax cuts. He promptly dismantled most of its key measures.
Hunt now sits on the backbenches in the House of Commons, having narrowly retained his seat of Godalming and Ash in July last year. As chancellor under Sunak, he launched initiatives including pensions reform and welfare cuts that have been picked up by his Labour successor Rachel Reeves.
Cleverly, who at one point seemed poised to succeed Sunak as Tory leader after the 2024 election loss, was ultimately defeated by Kemi Badenoch.
Mitchell, who served as development minister under Sunak and international development secretary under David Cameron, is a long-standing campaigner for higher overseas aid spending, notably in Africa.
He was recently appointed as an unpaid adviser to the African Development Bank Group.
Beyond politics, England cricketer James Anderson and filmmaker Matthew Vaughn were also given knighthoods.
