Johnson doesn’t deserve Garter knighthood like Blair’s, says Keir Starmer

Boris Johnson doesn’t deserve the identical honours as Tony Blair when he finally steps down as prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer has mentioned.

The Labour chief at this time defended the Queen’s award of a knighthood of the Order of the Garter to Mr Blair, describing him as “a really profitable prime minister (who) made an enormous distinction to the lives of hundreds of thousands of individuals on this nation”.

However answering questions following a speech in Birmingham, he rejected the suggestion that Mr Johnson too ought to turn into a member of the nation’s most senior chivalric order when he leaves workplace.

“I don’t assume this prime minister has earned the precise to have an honour,” mentioned Starmer.

“I do assume Tony Blair has.” Final week’s announcement of the gong for Blair sparked a petition which has gained 500,000 signatures calling for the provide to be withdrawn resulting from his involvement in taking the UK to warfare in Iraq in 2003.

However showing on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Sir Keir dismissed the concept the award was a “thorny challenge”.

“I don’t assume it’s thorny in any respect,” mentioned the Labour chief. “I believe he deserves the honour.

“Clearly I respect the truth that individuals have completely different views and I perceive there are robust view son the Iraq Struggle – there have been on the time and there nonetheless are.

“However that doesn’t detract from the truth that Tony Blair was a really profitable prime minister of this nation and made an enormous distinction to the lives of hundreds of thousands of individuals on this nation.”

The rank of knight companion of the Order of the Garter is held by not more than 24 individuals at a time, chosen personally by the Queen with out consulting the prime minister, to recognise public service and repair to the sovereign.

It’s conventional for the sovereign to supply the honour to prime ministers following their departure from 10 Downing Road, although the award typically comes a number of years after they go away workplace. Harold Macmillan declined the honour and it was not supplied to Alec Douglas-Dwelling as he was already a knight of the Order of the Thistle, however the entire different prime ministers of the Queen’s reign as much as Sir Tony have joined the Garter.

Requested if Mr Johnson backed Sir Tony’s knighthood, the prime minister’s official spokesperson mentioned it was “a matter for Her Majesty for the Queen”, including: “I might level out that each prime minister earlier than Tony Blair has obtained related honours.”