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07th Jan 2022

Tony Blair Knighthood: Petition to revoke former PM’s honour reaches 1m signatures

Steve Hopkins

The milestone was passed less than a week after the former PM was given the honour

A million people have now signed a petition calling for Tony Blair to have his Knighthood rescinded.

Labour’s longest-serving Prime Minister was appointed as a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, the oldest and most senior British Order of Chivalry in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list.

By Tuesday, a petition on Change.org to strip him of the honour had already surpassed 500,000 signatures. It reached the million-mark at shortly before 4.30pm Friday.

The petition reads: “Tony Blair caused irreparable damage to both the constitution of the United Kingdom and to the very fabric of the nation’s society.

“He was personally responsible for causing the death of countless innocent, civilian lives and servicement in various conflicts. For this alone he should be held accountable for war crimes.

Tony Blair is the least deserving person of any public honour, particularly anything awarded by Her Majesty the Queen. We petition the Prime Minister to petition Her Majesty to have this honour removed.”

A Twitter poll conducted by JOE found that 60 per cent of readers supported Blair being stripped of his knighthood.

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On Thursday, Angus Scott wrote on the petition, as it neared 800,000 signatures.

“As the petition approaches 800,000 signatures, families of soldiers who died in both Iraq and Afghanistan are pleading for their message to be heard by both the Government and the Palace.

“These families have not only had to suffer the devastation of losing a loved one, but are now suffering the distress of witnessing the man responsible for their loved-one’s death being publicly honoured.

“On their behalf, THANK YOU, deeply, for your personal support. It means a huge amount to each of these families. For this petition to have any chance of having an effect, we must all unite to push it over 1 million signatures.

“We can only do that if each and every one of you does your ‘bit’ to share the petition as widely as you can, to everyone you know and encourage them to do the same. On behalf of those directly affected by this decision, thank you so much for your continued support.”