Fred Goodwin stripped of knighthood (From The Northern Echo)
Send us your pictures, video, news and views by texting NORTHERN ECHO to 80360 or email us
Fred Goodwin stripped of knighthood
5:07pm Tuesday 31st January 2012 in News
Fred Goodwin
EX-BANKER Fred Goodwin has had his knighthood removed, it was announced today.
The Cabinet Office said the award had been "cancelled and annulled".
Mr Goodwin, who received his knighthood for services to banking, subsequently led the Royal Bank of Scotland to the brink of collapse.
The Cabinet Office said the knighthood had been removed on the advice of the Forfeiture Committee because Mr Goodwin had brought the honours system "into disrepute".
It said his record as chief executive of RBS, which had to be bailed out by taxpayers in 2008, meant it was an "exceptional case".
"In 2008 the Government had to provide £20bn of new equity to recapitalise RBS and ensure its survival and prevent the collapse of confidence in the British banking and payments system. Subsequent increases in Government capital have brought the total necessary injection of taxpayers money in RBS to £45.5bn," the Cabinet Office said in a statement.
"Both the Financial Services Authority and the Treasury Select Committee have investigated the reasons for this failure and its consequences.
"They are clear that the failure of RBS played an important role in the financial crisis of 2008-9 which, together with other macroeconomic factors, triggered the worst recession in the UK since the Second World War and imposed significant direct costs on British taxpayers and businesses.
"Fred Goodwin was the dominant decision maker at RBS at the time.
"In reaching this decision, it was recognised that widespread concern about Fred Goodwin's decisions meant that the retention of a Knighthood for services to banking could not be sustained."
Comments(7)
Jonn
says...
6:15pm Tue 31 Jan 12
MSG wrote:If only they had completed their sentences! Both were released after only serving a quarter of their terms.
Good!!!
Now can we see House of Lords expenses cheats - Lord Haningfield & Lord Taylor of Warwick stripped of their titles and thrown out of the Lords, now they have completed their prison sentences!.
Steeleye
says...
6:22pm Tue 31 Jan 12
oliviaden6
says...
6:55pm Tue 31 Jan 12
Dean M
says...
8:44pm Tue 31 Jan 12
oliviaden6 wrote:Well, he received his 'gong' in 2004 when the economy was booming and the finance sector was contributing billions of pounds to government coffers. So it suited the politicians at that time to knight him.
Why has it taken this long to do this, the question begs to be asked WHY did he get a Gong in the first place???
.
RBS went bust in 2008 as we know, and the government had to bail the bank out with billions of taxpayers money. Politicians made Sir Fred the hate figure over that (helped by him taking a huge pension when he left - to which he was entitled however), and so it now suits the politicians to have his knighthood removed. They'll claim the decision was 'independent', made by a 'committee' - yeah, right.
.
It has not been shown that Sir Fred committed any criminal act; he made a big mistake but is not a criminal.
.
A good question as to why Jeffrey Archer still has his knighthood, considering he was jailed for perjury. He was a senior Tory MP and Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party. This can't be anything to do with it, of course.
.
Lester Piggott lost his knighthood for fiddling his taxes. But he was just a housewives favourite, not a senior politician.
.
A bad day for the credibility of the British honours system, in my view.
st-george1
says...
9:46am Wed 1 Feb 12
stevegg
says...
6:43pm Wed 1 Feb 12
MSG says...
5:35pm Tue 31 Jan 12
Now can we see House of Lords expenses cheats - Lord Haningfield & Lord Taylor of Warwick stripped of their titles and thrown out of the Lords, now they have completed their prison sentences!.