Rishi Sunak ‘put outdated boss’ who helped Boris Johnson get mortgage ahead for peerage

Rishi Sunak put his old banker boss forward for an honour, it has been claimed.

Richard Sharp, a close friend of the PM who worked with him at investment bank Goldman Sachs, was forced to quit his role as chairman of the BBC after his involvement in securing a loan for Boris Johnson was revealed.

Now Mr Sunak is said to have pushed for his friend to get a peerage or knighthood in a future honours list, according to the Times. Meanwhile, Mr Sunak – freshly home from the G7 meeting in Italy – jetted to Switzerland on Saturday afternoon to take part in a Ukraine peace summit.

“From a position of strength, we must work with President Zelenskyy to set out the principles for a just and lasting peace, based on international law and the UN Charter,” Mr Sunak said ahead of the trip. “That is the path to a permanent cessation of hostilities. It will show Ukraine that we’ll stand by them when they are ready for negotiations.

“And it will show Putin’s allies in North Korea, Iran and elsewhere that we will protect the right of all nations to determine their own future.”

The Prime Minister, who is expected to meet Volodymyr Zelensky at the event in Switzerland, will criticise countries supplying arms and components for Vladimir Putin’s war effort. The peace summit at the Buergenstock Resort on a cliff overlooking Lake Lucerne is keeping Mr Sunak away from the General Election campaign.

He also attended the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London earlier on Saturday.

Dozens of heads of state and governments are expected to attend the summit, making it the largest world leader gathering solely focused on Ukraine since the invasion began, but Russia was not invited, meaning there is no hope of any substantial progress on a peace deal. Russian president Mr Putin has suggested the summit is “just another ploy to divert everyone’s attention”.