Sir Ian Botham given peerage as reward for Brexit loyalty

Boris Johnson is to mark his first anniversary as prime minister by rewarding Brexit loyalists, including Sir Ian Botham, with peerages.

The England cricketer is one of about 30 new peers to be announced this month. The list includes four former Labour MPs: Frank Field and Gisela Stuart, who backed Brexit, and Ian Austin and John Woodcock, who backed Mr Johnson’s deal.

The prime minister will also make Ken Clarke, Philip Hammond and Ed Vaizey peers. All three had the Tory whip withdrawn for trying to block his efforts to get a Brexit deal and their inclusion is an attempt to heal party and national divisions.

Botham is one of England’s greatest cricketers, scoring 5,200 Test runs and taking 383 wickets. He backed the Brexit