James O'Brien: Uproar over Tony Blair's knighthood 'silly'
4 January 2022, 15:00 | Updated: 4 January 2022, 20:18
James O'Brien: Uproar over Tony Blair nomination 'silly'
The way in which the UK's honour system operates makes the outrage over former PM Tony Blair receiving a knighthood 'increasingly silly'.
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James O'Brien was taking calls amid anger over Tony Blair being nominated for a "Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter".
A petition to have the former Prime Minister's nomination rescinded has reached over 500,000 signatures.
James argued that the protests, mainly citing the UK's involvement in the Iraq War and the findings of the Chilcot inquiry, don't hold any water.
He also made the case that because of how the honours system operates, calls to have Mr Blair's knighthood stripped are "silly".
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"My view of the honours system is probably more negative now than it’s ever been."
"I find the idea of a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter a little bit daft, but the idea that Tony Blair shouldn’t get one is looking increasingly silly."
James went on to explain how in the film The King's Man, characters note that to be a noble in modern Britain means "you had particularly bloodthirsty and unpleasant ancestors".
"The honours system is built on deferential nonsense, but if you can set aside that and then tell me why Tony Blair should be held to some standard that's higher than any other recipient of an honour in the last 500 years, I’ll give you the money myself!"
