THE Cabinet Office has revealed how many complaints it received about Tony Blair’s knighthood in the days immediately after the controversial decision was announced.
The elevation of Blair to the Most Noble Order of the Garter, the oldest and most senior British Order of Chivalry, sparked widespread controversy.
A petition to have him stripped of the honour was signed by more than 1.1 million people, and Green MSP Ross Greer said the former Labour prime minister deserved “a trial at the Hague rather than a knighthood”.
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However, Blair clung on to his “Sir Tony” title in the face of public opposition amid confusion in government over who had the power to remove it.
While the usual official channel would be through the Cabinet Office, a spokesperson insisted that Blair’s honour was specifically given by the Queen and so was outwith their remit.
However, Buckingham Palace insisted that the process of removing knighthoods had "nothing to do with" them.
The dispute was eventually settled, with the palace being established as having control over removing the knighthood.
In response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, the Cabinet Office has now revealed the number of complaints it received about Blair becoming “Sir Tony”.
It said that its honours@cabinetoffice.gov.uk email address, to which complaints about honours must be submitted, received 88 emails about Tony Blair in the days after his knighthood was announced.
At 10.30pm on Hogmanay, the New Year’s honours list was revealed. The FOI request was submitted almost exactly 60 hours later, at 10.30am on January 3.
The Cabinet Office said it had received 88 emails about Blair in that time period. Ordinarily it seems a single complaint could be enough to trigger a probe by the Forfeiture Committee.
“Each case is considered individually,” the Government’s website states.
No information was disclosed about the number of complaints received after 10.30am on January 3.
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