Petition to have Tony Blair’s knighthood stripped is on track for over a million signatures

A petition to have Tony Blair’s knighthood stripped is on track for over a million signatures, with a current total of over 775,000 who have signed the petition on Change.org.

Blair, 68, was made a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, an honour bestowed upon all bar one of his predecessors.

However, this decision has been met with a furious backlash from members of the public with anti-war campaigners branding it a ‘kick in the teeth’ to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan and military mothers threatening to return Elizabeth Crosses, a form of recognition given to bereaved families, in disgust.

Despite this, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Sir Tony had “earned” a knighthood and a government minister said it was “only right” to reward the former prime minister, who had done “many good things” for the UK

The appointment was the personal choice of the Queen, who has up to 24 “knight and lady companions”, with current Prime Minister Boris Johnson not involved in the decision.

The petition posted on the change.org website by actor and presenter Angus Scott says Sir Tony “caused irreparable damage to both the constitution of the United Kingdom and to the very fabric of the nation’s society” while in office.

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

“Tony Blair is the least deserving person of any public honour, particularly anything awarded by Her Majesty the Queen.”

The petition can be found here – https://www.change.org/p/the-prime-minister-tony-blair-to-have-his-knight-companion-of-the-most-noble-order-of-the-garter-rescinded