A petition to strip Sir Tony Blair of the knighthood given to him by the Queen in the New Year honours list has been signed by 166,000 people (at the time of writing).
The former PM was appointed as a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter yesterday.
This decision has been hit by a huge backlash, as many blame Blair for his involvement in the Iraq conflict during his tenure as Prime Minister.
A report by Sir John Chilcot in 2016 claimed Blair overplayed evidence about Saddam Hussein’s arsenal, further that he presented the case for war based on flawed intelligence about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction.
Disgusted Brits are rushing to sign a petition demanding the award be rescinded.
Tony Blair petition gathering momentum
The petition was launched by Angus Scott on Change.org, who writes: “Tony Blair is to be knighted with the highest possible ranking in the new year honours list, Buckingham Palace has said.
“Sir Tony, who held the keys to No 10 between 1997 and 2007, will be appointed a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, the oldest and most senior British Order of Chivalry.
“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.”
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Tony Blair knighthood ‘kick in the teeth’
Meanwhile, Lindsey German, the convenor of the Stop the War Coalition, has called it a “kick in the teeth”.
She told LBC Radio: “I think it’s pretty incredible given that this year, we’ve seen the collapse of Afghanistan, which [was] Tony Blair’s first major war in the war on terror.
“We have eight million people on the edge of starvation in Afghanistan now. We have… Iraq in a terrible state now, nearly 20 years after the invasion.
“And I think it’s a kick in the teeth for the people of Iraq and Afghanistan, and a kick in the teeth for all the people who protested against the war in Iraq and who have been proved right.”
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Speaker’s defence
Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, has defended the decision to bestow the honour on Blair, who left office 14 years ago.
Speaking to Radio 4, Hoyle said: “Whatever people might think, it is one of the toughest jobs in the world.
“And I think it is respectful and it is the right thing to do, whether it is Sir David Cameron.
“They should all be offered that knighthood when they finish as Prime Minister.”
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