MPs to vote on stripping Sir Philip Green of his knighthood

London - The time is neigh for Sir Philip Green as MPs are preparing to vote on whether or not the retail billionaire tycoon should be stripped of knighthood following the collapse of high street retailer BHS.

The vote, which is set to take place next week according to numerous reports, marks the first time MPs would have come together and voted on removing a knighthood by the Queen from a member of the public. It is set to take place during a debate concerning BHS’s collapse, which will be reviewed together with a report published by the Business and Pension committees, following a parliamentary inquiry. The motion to include the vote during the debate was put forward by Conservative MP Richard Fuller, as well as independent MP Michelle Thomson.

"His actions at BHS were of such a nature as to make it faintly ridiculous for him to continue to warrant an award for services to retailing," said Fuller to BBC Newsnight. "I'm putting forward this amendment for the simple reason that he warrants losing his knighthood. This is about expressing a legitimate sentiment about the way someone has behaved - it's not populist screaming, it's not a deal being done behind closed doors."

However, it is not within the House of Commons power to revoke a knighthood as it was not bestowed by them, so the decision would remain with an ad hoc committee - the Honours Forfeiture Committee, which is chaired by the head of the civil service. Sir Green, who counts high street chains Topshop, Burton and Dorothy as part of his retail firm, was previously knighted over a decade ago for his “services to retail.”

This is not the first time MPs have called to have Sir Green stripped of his knighthood. MP Frank Field, chair of the Pensions Committee previously called for the billionaire retail tycoon to be stripped of his knighthood this June, for his alleged involvement in the fall of BHS.

Photo: Financial Times, via Wikimedia Commons