Call to scrap British knighthoods
 |  Actor Michael Caine received his knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in 2000. |
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| | FACT BOX | Current honors
Knight/Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB)
Knight/Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB/DCB)
Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB)
Knight/Dame Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (GCMG)
Knight/Dame Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (KCMG/DCMG)
Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (CMG)
Knight/Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE)
Knight/Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE/DBE)
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
Knight Bachelor
Companion of Honour (CH)
Proposed honors
Commander of the Order of British Excellence (CBE)
Officer of the Order of British Excellence (OBE)
Member of the Order of British Excellence (MBE)
Companion of Honour (CH) |
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LONDON, England -- Britain should stop awarding knighthoods and damehoods within five years and scrap the Order of the British Empire, a committee of lawmakers has recommended.
Gone would be the government's ability to honor British citizens with the title "Sir" or "Dame" in recognition of their contributions to society.
Many figures from the musical, acting and political arenas have been awarded the titles, including Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sir Roger Moore, Dame Maggie Smith, Dame Judi Dench, Sir Mick Jagger, Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Edward Heath and Sir Winston Churchill.
The call by the House of Commons panel for a major overhaul of the honors system was met with disdain by those who uphold British traditions.
Constitutional expert Lord St. John of Fawsley described the recommendations as "absurd," while Burke's Peerage -- the guide to Britain's titled and landed families -- said abolishing the titles would remove "much of the incentive for contributors to public service".
The Commons Public Administration Committee said it was making the recommendations in part to make the honors system more transparent.
"Such titles are redolent of past preoccupation with rank and class, just as 'Empire' is redolent of an imperial history," the committee said in its report.
"Their continued use strikes a false note (which is why some recipients now prefer not to employ them)."
The committee suggested replacing the Order of the British Empire with an Order of British Excellence, calling it a "sensible adaptation" and rejecting suggestions of "political correctness."
Obscure honors such as "Orders of the Bath" also should be scrapped, the committee's report said.
"Consideration should be given to ... a decrease in awards of knighthoods and damehoods, with the objective of phasing out the awards of knighthoods within five years," it added.
"The title 'Order of the British Empire' was now considered to be unacceptable, being thought to embody values that are no longer shared by many of the country's population," it said.
In December, secret government files were leaked to The Sunday Times revealing an amazing list of celebrities who have snubbed the government by refusing knighthoods and other top honors.
They included rock star David Bowie, comedian John Cleese, actors Kenneth Branagh and Albert Finney, actress Vanessa Redgrave, authors Graham Greene, John le Carre and Roald Dahl.
Just weeks before, British Rastafarian poet Benjamin Zephaniah rejected an OBE -- Officer of the Order of the British Empire -- calling it a legacy of colonialism and saying the very title reminded him of "thousands of years of brutality."
The House committee said the new Order of British Excellence should, as far as possible, mirror the old one, with the same three levels of Member, Officer and Commander, and the same initials of MBE, OBE and CBE.
"The current system is terribly secretive. ... It's over-complicated and it's certainly out of date," committee member Anne Campbell, from Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labor Party, told BBC radio.
"We need a system that really accords more with the modern day," she added.
But Lord St. John said the changes would have damaging consequences.
"I think the proposals are no doubt well meant but in the main they are the wrong proposals," he said.
"Everybody knows the British Empire doesn't exist any longer. Replacing the OBE by the Order of British Excellence would merely create great confusion.
"What about the people who already have OBEs? ... All that would be achieving is cutting ourselves from history."
"We would be cutting ourselves off from a system which is understood by the people. It would create confusion."
|  Former Beatle Paul McCartney received his knighthood in 1997. |
Burke's Peerage called for the power to give honors to be removed from Downing Street and transferred to Buckingham Palace.
In a statement, it argued that the system has been in need of reform for years, but warned: "Honoring public spirited individuals in other ways, including cash settlements, would not only be a drain on taxpayers, but lacks the style of titles and other marks of distinction."
Harold Brooks-Baker, director of Burke's Peerage, said: "The changes in the honors system must support the idea that the monarchy , the Commonwealth -- instead of the Empire -- and Europe are vital, otherwise we might as well have a republic."
