A new push to strip the word “empire” from the British honours system has been launched by dozens of community activists who have accepted gongs but object to them being named after imperialism that caused “harm and trauma”. Last December the Cabinet Office said the names of medals such as the MBE, OBE and CBE would not change, but nearly 100 honours-holders have founded a campaign to replace the word empire with “excellence”. The Order of the British Empire was founded by King George V in 1917 as a way to recognise the service of non-combatants during the first world war. In 2004 Tony Blair resisted calls from MPs on the public accounts committee to end appointments to the Order of the British Empire and instead found a new Order of British Excellence. That is why the honours system – if it exists – must break any connection to the empire.

Source: The Guardian June 11, 2021 04:52 UTC