Ex-MPs Sir Henry Bellingham and Mark Lancaster head to the Lords
Two former Conservative MPs from the Anglia region have been nominated for peerages in the House of Lords.
Sir Henry Bellingham and Mark Lancaster were among 36 new Lords created by Prime Minister Boris Johnson as part of the Dissolution Honours list which was created following the General Election in December.
Both the MPs stepped down at the election. Sir Henry Bellingham served as MP for North West Norfolk for more than 30 years after first being elected in 1983. He was a junior Foreign Office minister for two years.
Mark Lancaster was an MP in Milton Keynes from 2005 until 2019. He served as a Defence Minister under David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson.
Mr Lancaster is also a Colonel in the Territorial Army and has worked in a bomb disposal unit. He has seen active service in Kosovo, Bosnia and Afghanistan.
The Prime Minister has nominated his brother Jo Johnson, several Tory grandees and his chief strategic adviser for peerages, while numerous Brexit-backers are also set for the Lords.
Ex-England cricket player Sir Ian Botham, who supported the Leave campaign, newspaper owner Evgeny Lebedev and former leader of the Scottish Conservatives Ruth Davidson were also among 36 new peerages announced on Friday.
The Lord Speaker, Lord Fowler, a former Conservative cabinet minister, attacked the nominations, which will result in the House of Lords being nearly 830 strong – "almost 200 greater than the House of Commons".