David Cameron has been accused by MPs of undermining public confidence in the honours system by awarding honours to five ministers sacked in his Cabinet reshuffle, including a Westcountry MP.
In September, North Devon Liberal Democrat MP Nick Harvey was stripped of his job as Armed Forces Minister during the Government reshuffle, and awarded a knighthood in the days after.
The Commons Public Administration Select Committee said the move, alongside honours for four other departing ministers, flew in the face of assurances given by the Government and represented a further "politicisation" of the system.
Mr Harvey, 51, has been MP for the North Devon constituency since 1992, and served on the Lib Dem front bench for much of that time. Former Ministers James Paice, Edward Garnier and Gerald Howard were recommended by Mr Cameron for knighthoods alongside Mr Harvey. Sir George Young – who has since returned to the Government as chief whip – was made a Companion of Honour.
In a rare step, the committee released a letter from its chairman Bernard Jenkin to the Prime Minister complaining that they were "perplexed and disillusioned" by his decision to make the awards.
In his reply Mr Cameron insisted that he had only made a "very limited number" of awards, adding "these special cases will not affect the integrity of the wider honours system."