David Cameron met with fury over resignation honours list that 'would embarrass a medieval court'

David Cameron's resignation honours list has been revealed just days after a leak sparked accusations of "cronyism". The former prime minister is facing strong backlash after the full list published on 3 August included gongs for 46 aides, allies and donors.

Former Chancellor George Osborne will receive the prestigious Companion of Honour award "for political and public service", while Tory MPs Patrick McLoughlin and Oliver Letwin are made knights. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has been awarded with a KCB.

All three politicians backed the failed Remain campaign in the EU referendum. Chancellor Philip Hammond is not included in Cameron's list, despite being previously tipped to receive a knighthood.

The more controversial awards on Cameron's list include an OBE for Samantha Cameron's stylist Isabel Spearman. Osborne's aide, Thea Rogers also received the same award.

Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn welcomed Shami Chakrabarti's appointment as a Labour peer in the House of Lords. Paying tribute to the prominent human rights campaigner, a spokesman for Corbyn said: "Her legal and campaigning skills, and the trust that she has gained from many ordinary Britons, will be a considerable asset to the House of Lords.

"Brexit will put many hard-fought rights at risk, so it is crucial that those equipped with the right skills are given the opportunity to hold this Government to account."

Cameron nominated 13 former advisors for peerages. Labour's Will Straw, who led the failed campaign to remain in the EU, is in line to receive a CBE.

The former prime minister's dissolution list received strong criticism, with Lib Dem leader Tim Farron saying: "David Cameron's resignation honours list is so full of cronies it would embarrass a medieval court.

"He is not the first prime minister to leave office having rewarded quite so many friends, but he should be the last. For the reputation of future leaders, such appointments should be handed over to an independent panel."

The Electoral Reform society called Cameron's parting gift of 16 Lords "a sorry legacy, both in terms of cost to the taxpayer and the quality of our democracy."

Chief Executive Katie Ghose said: "Mr Cameron's Lords legacy could have been about real, democratic reform. Instead, he has unfortunately chosen to follow the well-trodden route of every other PM and packed the second chamber with former politicians, donors and party hacks. These unelected peers will cost the taxpayer millions over the long term – hardly a fitting goodbye.

"In Mr Cameron's time in office he appointed Peers at a faster rate than any Prime Minister in Britain's history – with 190 new unelected peers in the space of just six years."

In an article for the Times, Cameron's former aide Steve Hilton blasted the list as "a symptom of a wider problem: our corrupt and decaying democracy." He added that the "very British corruption revealed by the resignation honours list is the fact that these honours – and even places in our legislature – can be purchased with political donations."

Despite widespread anger following the leak, Prime Minister Theresa May refused to step in, saying to do so would "set a very bad precedent".