Boris Johnson attacks 'shameful' treatment of peer Charlotte Owen
Johnson attacks 'shameful' treatment of Charlotte Owen
BBC
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has described the treatment of Charlotte Owen, a former adviser who he appointed to the House of Lords, as "absolutely shameful" and sexist. Speaking to Matt Chorley on BBC Radio 5Live, he said the Lords had been "rammed to the gills" with political advisers who had not received similar levels of "abuse". Owen became the youngest person ever to receive a life peerage, at the age of 29, after just six years at Westminster in relatively junior roles. Johnson hit back at critics of the move, saying she had been an "extremely effective" political adviser.
He added that events in his political career had "fried the brains of a lot of people who opposed me and who opposed Brexit" adding: "We all need to get over it and move on." Another Johnson adviser, Ross Kempsell, who is a year older than Owen, was also given a peerage.