BORIS Johnson is set to put into the House of Lords a millionaire donor who once claimed the Tories had to be seen to be fighting for the Union so they could say no to giving Scotland what it wanted after independence.

According to the Times, Peter Cruddas, who was also forced to resign as the party’s treasurer in 2012 in a cash-for-access row, is said to be among the 28 names submitted by the Prime Minister to the House of Lords appointments committee.

The list is also said to include former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson, former chancellors Ken Clarke and Philip Hammond, and the billionaire party donor Michael Spencer.

Back in 2012, Cruddas was caught in secret recordings by the Sunday Times claiming his party needed to fake enthusiasm for the Union.

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He told reporters posing as potential donors: “We, as a party, have to be seen to be fighting to keep the Union together. Even if we don’t agree with it, because at the end of it all, if the Scots say we’re out of here and they want to go independent, we can turn around and say it’s not what we wanted, it’s not what we campaigned for, you can’t have this, you can’t have that, and you can get on with it.”

Cruddas, who has donated more than £3 million to the Tories since 2007, was forced to resign his position with the party after he reportedly offered undercover reporters access to David Cameron in exchange for £250,000 in donations.

The Court of Appeal found in 2015 that he had offered the journalists the “opportunity to influence government policy” and gain an unfair commercial advantage. “What he proposed was unacceptable, inappropriate and wrong,” the court ruled.

The House of Lords appointments committee, which vets peerages, will meet on Tuesday to discuss the nominations.

Spencer, a billionaire financier who has also served as Tory treasurer, has donated about £5 million to the Tories in recent years. He was rejected in 2016 after being nominated by David Cameron. Jon Moynihan, a multi-millionaire venture capitalist who chaired the Vote Leave finance committee, is also understood to be on the list. He donated £100,000 for Johnson’s leadership campaign.

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Others said to be on the list include Charles Moore, a former editor of The Daily Telegraph; Dan Hannan, a prominent Brexiteer and former Tory MEP; and James Wharton, a former Tory MP who helped Johnson’s campaign.

Davidson, who is still the MSP for Edinburgh Central, stepped down as Scottish Tory leader in August after eight years in the job, just weeks after Johnson’s appointment as Prime Minister.

She stood down due to personal reasons and because of her differences with Johnson over Brexit.

Davidson has already indicated she will stand down as an MSP next year.

The SNP’s former Westminster leader Angus Robertson wasn’t impressed. He tweeted: “Given Westminster sits on the same days as the Scottish Parliament, how can an MSP like Ruth Davidson be in the House of Lords without letting down her Edinburgh Central constituents?”

Twitter user Alan Ferrier replied: “Speaking as one of Ruth Davidson’s Edinburgh Central constituents, Angus, I can assure you that we’ll barely notice her absence.”

SNP MSP Rona Mackay called for the Lords to be abolished, saying: “This appointment is scandalous and a real affront to democracy.

“Money speaks for money and this news proves that the Tories believe in nothing except protecting their own interests at Westminster.

“With Boris Johnson dishing out peerages to his millionaire chums it is no surprise there is growing anger in Scotland about the role of these unelected cronies.”