Boris Johnson could be next Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports

It is one of the highest honours bestowed by a sovereign – but the role of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is currently vacant.

Now, friends of Boris Johnson have suggested that he would be the perfect candidate for the role.

“He defended the realm from the invasion of eurocrats,” one ally of Mr Johnson said. “In recognition of his defence of the national interest, it is hard to think of anyone more suitable to be the Lord Warden.”

With its origins in the thirteenth century, the Lord Warden has traditionally been in charge of a series of port towns on the southeast coast of England that supplied ships and men to the Crown each year.

Although the role is largely ceremonial these days, it has often been held by members of the royal family or those who have defended Britain at times of war.

Several former prime ministers are among the previous holders of the office including Sir Winston Churchill, the Duke of Wellington and Lord Salisbury.

The friend of Mr Johnson continued: “He would do it with panache, he would reinvigorate the post and bring it to national eminence.”

The last person to hold the office of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports was Admiral of the Fleet Michael Cecil Boyce, Baron Boyce, the British Royal Navy officer who also sat as a crossbench member of the House of Lords.

He served as Lord Warden until his death in November 2022, and the role has remained empty since then. Before him, the role was occupied by the Queen Mother.

A spokesman for Mr Johnson also declined to comment on whether he would take up the role. The Cabinet Office said the role will be filled “in due course”.

Five major coastal ports

The Cinque Ports was the collective name given to five major ports on the south-east coast of England: Sandwich, Dover, Hythe, New Romney and Hastings.

Before the Norman Conquest, they enjoyed a powerful trading and defensive alliance, with rights of self-government in return for the Crown’s use of their ships and men each year.

The alliance attracted many other coastal towns in Kent and east Sussex, becoming so powerful as to have their rights written into a royal charter in 1155.

Edward I appointed the first Lord Warden in the thirteenth century to enable Crown control of the Cinque Ports. The Lord Warden was also Admiral of the Cinque Ports and, from 1267, Constable of Dover Castle.

These titles gave Lords Warden responsibility for the defence of Kent and Sussex, influence over the appointment of MPs, as well as powers in regulating maritime business, including pilots, shipwrecks and goods salvage.

Unlikely to rejoin politics ‘in the short term’

Mr Johnson resigned as MP for Uxbridge & South Ruislip last year, nearly a year after standing down as prime minister, ahead of a publication of a report into parties during the pandemic at Downing Street under his tenure.

Since quitting politics, he has made hundreds of thousands of pounds giving speeches at various corporate events around the world.

Earlier this month, he declined to rule out a return to front-line politics amid growing speculation that he could stand as an MP again.

The former prime minister told an audience at Georgetown University in Washington that he could re-enter politics if he felt he had “something to contribute”.

Asked if he would stand again as an MP, he said: “I think it’s unlikely in the short term. I think the only circumstances in which anybody should stand for election is if they have something to contribute.”