MP calls for Vicky Pryce to be stripped of honour after criminal conviction

 
Call to have her stripped of honour: Vicky Pryce
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The jailed wife of ex-minister Chris Huhne may be stripped of a highly prestigious honour bestowed by the Queen, the Evening Standard has learned.

Vicky Pryce, who is serving an eight-month prison sentence for taking her ex-husband’s speeding points, remains a Companion of the Order of the Bath despite her conviction. Ms Pryce received the honour in 2009 when she was a senior economist at the Department for Business.

But Whitehall guidelines say that anyone sentenced to three months or more for a criminal offence is liable to have an honour withdrawn.

And today a Labour MP launched a formal campaign for the expulsion process to be put in motion, saying it was “profoundly unacceptable” for her to retain the honour in prison.

The Order, which includes the Queen herself and the Prince of Wales, has roots dating back at least 900 years and its ranks are limited by statute to 120 knights and dames grand cross, 295 knights and dames commander and 1,455 companions.

In a letter to David Cameron, Labour MP Andrew Gwynne said people felt “outraged” that Jimmy Savile could not be posthumously stripped of his knighthood and went on: “Whilst Ms Pryce has rightly been jailed, she continues to hold the title of Companion of the Order of the Bath.

“I would therefore like to ask you to call a meeting of the Honours Forfeiture Committee to consider the case for removing Ms Pryce’s honour. I have no doubt that the vast majority of the public will find it profoundly unacceptable that a convicted criminal with such disregard for British justice continues to hold such an illustrious honour.”

He added: “Convicted criminals should not be allowed to hold honours bestowed in good faith by HM The Queen.”

In fact, Mr Cameron has no power to summon the fiercely independent Forfeiture Committee, which is headed by Sir Bob Kerslake, head of the civil service.

The Cabinet Office refused to comment on whether it was considering Ms Pryce.

But published Whitehall information on the system states: “Someone’s who’s been given an honour and has done something to bring the honours system into disrepute can have their honour taken away (‘forfeited’). Examples include if someone has been sentenced to imprisonment of at least three months for a criminal offence.”

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