Published: | Updated:

How could Philip Green be stripped of his knighthood?

The naming of Sir Philip Green as behind an injunction covering up alleged sexual and racial harassment will - although this does not mean that any wrong-doing is proved against him - refuel claims he should lose his knighthood.

A political storm raged over the honour around the time of the BHS collapse.

Sir Philip can only be stripped of the gong by the Honours Forfeiture Committee.

It is a secretive Whitehall panel that meets to consider whether people should be stripped of their honour.

In the past it has cancelled honours of convicted criminals like Rolf Harris and more controversially people who, whilst they have not been convicted of any crime, have been harshly criticised like ex-RBS boss Fred Goodwin.  

The Committee, which normally conducts its business by correspondence, considers cases where an individual who has been honoured is judged to have brought the honours system into disrepute.

It usually looks at people who have been sentenced to a term of imprisonment of three months or more, or have been censured or struck off by the relevant professional or other regulatory authority.

The Committee is not restricted to these two criteria, and if there is other compelling evidence that an individual has brought the honours system into disrepute, then it is open to the Committee to consider such cases as well. 

Advertisement

Read articles that feature this panel

Fresh calls for Sir Philip Green to be stripped of his knighthood as he is named as billionaire tycoon who gagged the press over #MeToo...

Sir Vince Cable said Sir Philip Green only narrowly escaped losing his honour after being caught up in the BHS pensions scandal, and should...

'There's no point having Parliamentary privilege if you never use it': Lord Hain says support has been 'overwhelming, particularly from...

Born in Kenya, Lord Hain, 68, first rose to prominence as a leading anti-Apartheid campaigner disrupting rugby and cricket tours by...

A foul-mouthed bully who left young women in tears - but showered friends with champagne as they partied like Nero: The polarising worlds of...

To his supporters, he is a larger-than-life commercial genius with a gift for the gab and an eye for a deal, who, through hard work and no...

Flying home to face the music? Sir Philip Green is given warm welcome from a stewardess as he boards private jet back to Britain amid row...

Sir Philip Green, 66, was unmasked in Parliament last Thursday as the businessman who gagged the press over claims of racism and sexual...

Most watched News videos