Mittal may be lord in Blair’s House

LONDON: NRI steel tycoon Lakshmi Niwas Mittal may be granted an honour by Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair for his contribution to the steel industry, a report said on Monday.

According to the Daily Mail, the Prime Minister is debating whether Mittal, Britain’s richest man with wealth estimated at £15 billion, should be included in his resignation honours list.

Blair has the power to award a knighthood or even a peerage to the businessman, though Mittal has an Indian passport. He would be entitled to take a seat in the House of Lords as a Commonwealth citizen.

But opposition MPs warned that the public would be dismayed if the Prime Minister honoured Mittal. The steel tycoon last week made a £2 million donation to the Labour Party and has now handed over a staggering £4 million to Labour fundraisers.

According to the report, Blair is drawing up his list, which will be vetted by the House of Lords appointments watchdog.

Last week, Mittal described himself as a “long-term supporter of the Labour Party and the work it has done in the UK to improve the overall prosperity and prospects of the country since coming to power”.