Whitty, Van-Tam and Blair knighted

[bots]

Prof Chris Whitty and Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, who became household names during the Covid-19 pandemic, have been knighted in the New Year Honours list.

Both men - who will now have "Sir" before their name - have regularly briefed the nation from Downing Street.

Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, and Dr June Raine, head of the vaccines regulator MHRA, are both made dames.

And Tony Blair is knighted, being appointed to the Order of the Garter.

Unlike the main New Year Honours list, which is advised on by the prime minister's office, the Order of the Garter is a royal appointment.

The former prime minister said it was "an immense honour" and he was "deeply grateful to Her Majesty the Queen".

On the main list, actresses Joanna Lumley and Vanessa Redgrave are made dames.

In sport, husband and wife Jason and Laura Kenny are made a knight and a dame for services to cycling, while Jody Cundy - who has won multiple Paralympic golds in swimming and cycling - is appointed CBE.

Tom Daley, who won Olympic gold in Tokyo in the summer, is appointed OBE for services to "diving, LGBTQ+ rights and charity". His diving partner and fellow gold medallist, Matty Lee, gets an MBE.

Swimmer Adam Peaty and gymnast Max Whitlock also become OBEs, while shock US Open winner Emma Raducanu is appointed MBE.


more at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-59809682

[Crimson Dynamo]

Disgraceful

[bots]

How did Tony Blair get knighted now, something must have gone down

[rusticgal]

How did Tony Blair get knighted now, something must have gone down


I just don’t get that one…

[Liam-]

Blair? He can **** right off

[Mystic Mock]

Disgraceful

Why shouldn't a war criminal be knighted?

[Alf]

Services to Diving?

What about Alf's services to window cleaning?

Window cleaning is a far more valuable service to the community than diving into a swimming pool is.

It's one big club and you're not in it.

[Crimson Dynamo]

Why shouldn't a war criminal be knighted?

Arise Sir Adolf

[Mystic Mock]

Arise Sir Adolf

Now you're getting it.

[user104658]

Hmmm. Whilst I'm not all that surprised that Blair was knighted, I do have to query why he was knighted now, it seems a bit odd.

[bots]

Hmmm. Whilst I'm not all that surprised that Blair was knighted, I do have to query why he was knighted now, it seems a bit odd.

that's my thoughts, there has to be a specific reason it happened now. It's years since he was PM, he hasn't done anything special that i am aware of recently. Something must have driven it

[Alf]

that's my thoughts, there has to be a specific reason it happened now. It's years since he was PM, he hasn't done anything special that i am aware of recently. Something must have driven itHe's become a wealthy person. He wasn't that wealthy when he became a public servant so he's done very well financially from public service. He's a millionare.

[bots]

He's become a wealthy person. He wasn't that wealthy when he became a public servant so he's done very well financially from public service. He's a millionare.

his wife was one of the top barristers in the country, he was also a lawyer, they were buying and selling property like it was going out of fashion. They have been very wealthy going back before he was PM

[Alf]

his wife was one of the top barristers in the country, he was also a lawyer, they were buying and selling property like it was going out of fashion. They have been very wealthy going back before he was PMThe Likelyhood he made a trip to Epstein Island is very high.

[arista]

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/106C1/production/_122556276_express_sat-nc.png

[arista]

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/9191/production/_122556273_mirror_sat-nc.png

[arista]

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/1C61/production/_122556270_star_sat-nc.png

[arista]

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/B8A1/production/_122556274_times_sat-nc.png

[joeysteele]

Doesn't surprise me.
That extremely high honour to Blair is given directly by the Monarch.

No surprise at all he would be someone in high favour with the Monarch.

Just a further demonstration to me, as to all that's wrong about the honours decisions.

[arista]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FIAXfbLX0AIMcFu?format=jpg&name=240x240

Sir Blair and his Mate

[user104658]

The Likelyhood he made a trip to Epstein Island is very high.


Hmm… so to go back to what I said in the Maxwell thread - there will have been many powerful individuals who didn’t necessarily “take part” in all of the, erm, trafficking and rape BUT who saw and knew plenty and kept it to themselves. Thinking about timeframes here, when Blair was PM etc., might there be a reason that the Royal Firm might want to keep him on side… :whistle:

[Crimson Dynamo]

of all the people in the UK who could have been honoured....

Blair??

I mean wtaf is going on?

[bots]

i disagree with the honours system strongly. I just dont see why some people should be given an accolade for basically doing what they are paid to do. For those that make a difference outside of their career then i think it possible to justify it, but Blair? It just shouts out suspicious

For me it is paying for the silence on Andrew or Diana's death, it's one or the other

[Crimson Dynamo]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Happy New Year 🇬🇧 <br>🤦🏽*♂️ 😆 😂 <a href="https://t.co/JVXShHLCVp">pic.twitter.com/JVXShHLCVp</a></p>&mdash; Maajid أبو عمّار (@MaajidNawaz) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaajidNawaz/status/1477065733750337537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Oliver_W]

For some reason I had the impression that all outgoing PMs are offered knighthoods or damehoods?

That said, the last PM who was "elected"* and then served a full term without stepping down was ... Tony Blair :joker:

* I know PMs aren't actually elected, but I was just using it as a shorthand for leading a party that wins a majority.

[bots]

For some reason I had the impression that all outgoing PMs are offered knighthoods or damehoods?

That said, the last PM who was "elected"* and then served a full term without stepping down was ... Tony Blair :joker:

* I know PMs aren't actually elected, but I was just using it as a shorthand for leading a party that wins a majority.

Brown, Cameron and May didnt get an outgoing knighthood

[Oliver_W]

Brown, Cameron and May didnt get an outgoing knighthood

Brown became PM without having led the party through an election, and Cameron and May both stepped down.

Or, to put it in other words, none of them seen through their full terms after getting "elected".

Or to put it another-another way, see my post that you quoted.

[Kazanne]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Happy New Year 🇬🇧 <br>🤦🏽*♂️ 😆 😂 <a href="https://t.co/JVXShHLCVp">pic.twitter.com/JVXShHLCVp</a></p>&mdash; Maajid أبو عمّار (@MaajidNawaz) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaajidNawaz/status/1477065733750337537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Satan comes to mnd:fist:

[arista]

LBC reports 100,000 have signed to stop Blair
becoming "sir"


That will not stop him

[joeysteele]

LBC reports 100,000 have signed to stop Blair
becoming "sir"


That will not stop them.

The Queen takes no notice of petitions.
This is ONLY HER decision, her conferring this honour on him.
It's the gift of the Monarch to give it.

So petitions are a waste of time.

Far better do a petition to stop anyone,( other than REAL heroes and as such being then worthy of recognition), getting these questionable honours.

Damehoods, Knighthoods given out like confetti and for what really?

[Crimson Dynamo]

David Cameron's hair stylist 'honoured' by MBE

The prime minister's hairdresser has said keeping his MBE nomination a secret, was the hardest month of his life.

Lino Carbosiero, who started cutting David Cameron's hair before he entered Downing Street. has been recognised for services to hairdressing.

He said the accolade had left him ''absolutely shocked and so happy''.

And he revealed the reason for changing the prime minister's parting, which prompted headlines in 2010 about Mr Cameron swinging from ''right to left''.

[Nicky91]

Sir Tony Blair


sounds quite nice :flutter:

[Mystic Mock]

Brown, Cameron and May didnt get an outgoing knighthood

May technically never won an Election tbf.

[bots]

May technically never won an Election tbf.

yes she did, she had the most mp's and thats the definition of winning :laugh:

[Mystic Mock]

yes she did, she had the most mp's and thats the definition of winning :laugh:

It was a hung parliament, that's a stalemate.

She had to get the DUP to help her govern the country.

[joeysteele]

It was a hung parliament, that's a stalemate.

She had to get the DUP to help her govern the country.

She was extremely fortunate to have the extreme DUP in parliament with their votes to put in and secure her government, after she LOST the overall majority she already had.
Because the Lib Dems couldn't have kept her in under the leadership they had at the time.
With them not supporting leaving the EU.

Just a loss of about another 10 seats on top of the ones she lost in that election and it would have been impossible for her to govern, despite being the largest party.

Every other party except the DUP were more anti Con votes in parliament.

It's bad enough to see the likes of Blair getting such high honours
Directly from the Queen herself.

However if we were to see FAILED Prime Ministers too get great honours, that would be adding to the insult in seeing who gets these honours.

However after Blair getting this from the reigning Monarch.
Then for incompetence,heartlessness, unlawful action in power and dangerous policies as to thousands of lives lost unnecessarily, then very sadly, they are likely to be already preparing more great honours for this odious creep in power now.

[bots]

It was a hung parliament, that's a stalemate.

She had to get the DUP to help her govern the country.

that doesn't change the fact that she had the most mps of any individual party which means she won the election

[Livia]

My Dad was a paramedic. He saved loads of lives, delivered lots of babies, put himself in danger to help others just like all of his colleagues. None of them have an MBE, a knighthood or any other kind of acknowledgement so I see no reason why this war criminal should be handed one.