Claire Reid
The petition calling for Tony Blair to have his knighthood rescinded has gained over 500,000 signatures.
The former Prime Minister was made a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list.
But the announcement has been met with a backlash, with some critics accusing Blair of being a ‘war criminal’ due to his involvement in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Shortly after the announcement was made, a petition was set up by Angus Scott on change.org titled Tony Blair to have his ‘Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter’ rescinded, which has, at the time of writing, hit over 501,000 signatures.
The petition reads: “Tony Blair is to be knighted with the highest possible ranking in the new year honours list, Buckingham Palace has said.
“Sir Tony, who held the keys to No 10 between 1997 and 2007, will be appointed a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, the oldest and most senior British Order of Chivalry.
“Tony Blair caused irreparable damage to both the constitution of the United Kingdom and to the very fabric of the nation's society. 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.
“Tony Blair is the least deserving person of any public honour, particularly anything awarded by Her Majesty the Queen.
“We petition the Prime Minister to petition Her Majesty to have this honour removed.”
The former Prime Minister is yet to respond to the backlash, but did release a statement when his knighthood was first announced.
In a statement issued through the Tony Blair Foundation, he said: “It is an immense honour to be appointed Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, and I am deeply grateful to Her Majesty the Queen.
"It was a great privilege to serve as Prime Minister and I would like to thank all those who served alongside me in politics, public service and all parts of our society, for their dedication and commitment to our country.”
Alongside former US President George Bush, Blair took the UK into two wars in the wake of 9/11.
A 2016 inquiry into the decisions to enter the conflicts found that the UK ‘chose to join the invasion of Iraq before the peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted’ and that military action ‘was not a last resort’.
In response to the report, Blair insisted that he would ‘take the same decision’ if he was given similar intelligence.
