Will Hutton on 5 live yesterday suggested it would be seen as a bad thing in banking circles. Yes he's got plenty of money, but as you say the embarrassment will be bad for a while.

Agree with Coddy that we should go after Archer too

Or was it Ashcroft?

He said both, but I'm more keen to get Archer

I'm not interested in Archer's titles for their own sake, but for the sake of literature he should be prevented from ever using the title "author" on his CV and passport.

Which sort of takes us back to Fred Goodwin and his threats to sue people who ever referred to him as a banker ...

Is that the obscure pronunciation, where the b sounds like a w?

Chris28 wrote:Is that the obscure pronunciation, where the b sounds like a w? Apparently he was quite upset at the usual pronunciation.

Chris28 wrote:Is that the obscure pronunciation, where the b sounds like a w? Apparently he was quite upset at the usual pronunciation.

The criticism over this is mounting and not particularly in sympathy with Mr Goodwin but because it increasingly looks like a bit of ill thought out victimisation designed to grab the headlines.

Yes it is rather inappropriate for a banker who led RBS to the brink of ceasing to exists has a knighthood for "services to banking" which is what he got it for in 2004 when life was all rosy but if you strip Goodwin of his title how can you possibly leave those Knights of the Realm or Lords who are convicted criminals with theirs? As Coddy pointed out above Archer has a title and kept it despite going to prison and I am pretty sure one of the Lords who went to to prison over the expenses scandal has not only kept his title but has taken up his seat once again in the upper house.

It's quite right Goodwin gets a ton of flak for running RBS into the ground but given he is not a convicted criminal stripping him of his title looks increasingly petty and not thought through. Mind you this is the government of unintended consequences who tend to act first and think later so it is no surprise really.

I seem to recall from my time at the Home Office that stripping a Lord of the title is much more difficult than just having a Forfeiture Committee meeting though

Here we have the real reason for it.
Smoke and mirrors, Cameron's usual ploy.