NEWCASTLE Central MP Chi Onwurah has called for disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein to be stripped of his CBE.

She has written to cabinet secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood to start the formal process of having the honour revoked following widespread allegations of rape and sexual assault in the United States and in Britain.

The CBE was awarded in 2004 for his ‘outstanding contribution to the British Film Industry’.

Sir Heywood chairs the committee, which decides whether individuals should have their honours removed and in her referral, Ms Onwurah highlighted Weinstein’s expulsion from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Ms Onwurah, who also wrote to the Prime Minister last week, said: “This is about demonstrating that survivors of sexual assault and harassment need to be taken seriously, and it is also about ensuring that the economic opportunity of women is not constrained by the predatory actions of powerful men.”