Honours condemned as outdated, class-bound and mired in secrecy

Titles allowing the great and good to be known as "Sir" or "Dame" should be shelved in a reform of the honours system, Tony Blair was told yesterday by a Commons select committee.

Titles allowing the great and good to be known as "Sir" or "Dame" should be shelved in a reform of the honours system, Tony Blair was told yesterday by a Commons select committee.

The honours system was condemned by the MPs as anachronistic, dominated by secrecy, riddled with class prejudice and biased against ethnic minorities and women.

Titles in the honours system were "redolent of past preoccupations with rank and class, just as the 'Empire' is redolent of an imperial history," said the Public Administration Committee, chaired by the Labour MP Tony Wright.

The MPs said the Queen could still award titles in her gift, but their continued use by the Prime Minister "strikes a false note" and should be ended. The most coveted of titles - peerages - only escaped criticism because the Government has yet to decide how it will reform the House of Lords.

Welcoming the report, the author J G Ballard, one of 300 people who declined a CBE, said the titles were "Ruritanian". He added: "I cannot accept the system of antiquated titles and medals that really belong on a Christmas tree."

The MPs called for 16 titles to be declared redundant, including the Knight and Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB), Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG/DCMG), and Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

The MPs said the number of awards should trimmed to four: Companion of Honour (CH) as the highest award; Companion of the Order of British Excellence (CBE); Officer of the Order of British Excellence (OBE); and Member of the Order of British Excellence (MBE). Colonial titles, such as the Order of the British Empire, should be consigned to history. "This is anachronistic and insensitive, an inappropriate symbol for today's Britain," the committee said.

People from ethnic minorities were more likely to get the lowest awards, if they were honoured at all, the MPs found. Only 2.7 per cent of knighthoods and 6.3 per cent of OBEs and MBEs were given to people from ethnic minorities.

The MPs also called for the Prime Minister to be stripped of all power of patronage over the honours currently in his gift. It called for an independent commission to take over the role.

The use of honours as the tools of political management by No 10 casts suspicion on the system, the report said. They expressed unease about making awards to political donors.

"There was special concern about the use of honours as the 'lubricant of the state' and some scepticism at the claims of those who run the system that it is entirely based on merit," said the report.

On Friday Mr Blair will receive a report by Sir Hayden Phillips on reforming the honours system.

The Prime Minister commissioned the report after leaks last year revealed that Professor Colin Blakemore, chief executive of the Medical Research Centre, had been blackballed by civil servants on a secret honours committee because they feared that his links with experiments on animals would prove controversial.

Sir Hayden is expected to echo Mr Wright's committee in many of his criticisms of the honours system and will call for an end to automatic honours for civil servants, but will stop short at recommending an end to prime ministerial patronage.

The MPs criticised the practice of prime ministers giving awards to celebrities to liven up honours lists. Harold Wilson, who appointed the Beatles MBEs, said he wanted to "sprinkle stardust" on the list.

They also called for an end to automatic awards for civil servants. Although the health service produces more honours than any other occupation, nurses' leaders complained that nurses were rarely rewarded while civil servants regularly got "gongs".

The report will add to the pressure on the Prime Minister to act. The MPs said that attempts by the former prime minister John Major to make the honours system more representative, particularly to women and people from ethnic minorities, had failed to penetrate the secrecy in Whitehall.

The Tory MP Alan Duncan described the committee's findings as sad. "They are honing in on the wrong targets," he said. "The value of this system is that it gives enormous pleasure."

WHY HAVE A KNIGHTHOOD?

Sir Robert Dowling, state school headteacher

Well, being a Sir certainly doesn't help pay your gas or electricity bills. I was Bob Dowling before, and I'm still Bob to all my staff. It's an honour, not a title. I don't see it as a personal honour, but for the profession and for education; all headteachers, pupils, parents. I didn't know I had been nominated, or why I was chosen, but I'm delighted and would not want to give it back. Pupils often call me "Sir Sir" when they are taking the mickey. I would laugh at myself if I ever used it to gain advantages. And if I ever saw anyone else trying to abuse it, I think I'd have to take the mickey out of them. My family were very proud - of course they were, there would be something wrong if they weren't - but I'm still the guy that gets the blame for everything, no matter what.

Sir Christopher Frayling, chairman of the Arts Council

When I got the knighthood, the staff made a composite photo with me sitting on a horse, saying: "A rise please, Sir Christopher." People say it helps you get tables at exclusive restaurants. I tried the "Sir" thing once at The Ivy and it didn't work. I do get a lot more mail, for luxury hotels and houses, the paper so thick they barely fit through the door. They can be a bit of a bore. I must be on some sort of mailing list, a bit like when people announce their engagements in newspapers and are then showered with adverts for wedding dress retailers. The only time people have been deferential was at an auction house. When I gave my name, I was offered a seat in hushed tones: "Would Sir Christopher like to sit here?" I have been having enormous fun choosing my coat of arms, so I can go into battle with my own shield. It's not yet on my driving licence, I think I should try that.

Lord Brittan of Spennithorne (formerly Sir Leon Brittan)

It makes no difference at all to my life and, unless you were very foolish, it should not change your behaviour. There is a different name on the envelope; that's perhaps the most noticeable difference.

Some people get a little embarrassed as they are not sure how to address you - some get it right, others wrong, but it doesn't matter.

There is a bigger difference in becoming a lord because you have a place in House of Lords. As a knight, apart from the title, life goes on as normal.

Sir Malcolm Rifkind, former foreign secretary

I am very supportive of the proposal to change the OBE to Order of British Excellence or something of that sort. I am the proud possessor of a knighthood, so it seems unfair to drop the drawbridge after the event, but every proposal will have to be considered on its own merits. I have not noticed the slightest effect in people's treatment of me. My name is already well known, so either people know me or not - the knighthood has not made a difference. Only on a formal document would I use Sir.

Genevieve Roberts

THE WORLD OF HONOURS

UNITED STATES

The United States has a system of national civilian honours with the Presidential Medal of Freedom being the highest, but the founding fathers decided from the start to do away with titles, seen as part of Britain's class-based system.

AUSTRALIA

In Australia, which radically reformed its system after a comprehensive public consultation in the 1990s, anyone can nominate a citizen for an award. The Australians have geared their system to honour local service as much as national public office and have an open system of appointment to its honours commission. Awards include the Order of Australia: Companion, Officer and Member.

FRANCE

The French Republic did away with its monarchy but retained a system of honours under political control. The Légion d'Honneur is the highest civilian award but the President sets a limit on the number. Lord Dykes, the recently ennobled Liberal Democrat peer, is among British citizens to have been so honoured.

NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand recently decided to end knighthoods and damehoods, demonstrating that it is no longer under British influence. The Public Administration Committee of the Commons said this "confirms that they are not an indispensable part of a Westminster-style honours system". New Zealand's awards system is still under political control, and its honours include the Order of Merit, Principal Companion of Merit and Distinguished Companion of Merit.

CANADA

In Canada, non-civil service members predominate on the selection bodies for national honours. Members of the Canadian parliament are also denied some honours while they are serving, to avoid charges of "gongs for votes".

IRELAND

The Republic of Ireland is one of the few countries without an honours system.