LEGION DIS’HONNEUR
Editor of the Pink ’Un gets French award ... for talking down Britain
THE editor of the Financial Times is in line for France’s highest honour – in recognition of his newspaper’s relentlessly pro-EU coverage.
Lionel Barber revealed yesterday that he has been offered the Legion d’Honneur when he posted on Twitter a copy of a letter from the French embassy informing him of his appointment.
The tweet, apparently sent to a friend but posted publicly by accident, was deleted shortly afterwards.
The letter said Mr Barber is being proposed for the rank of Chevalier, lowest of the award’s five classes, in recognition of his ‘positive role in the European debate’.
The Queen would have to give Mr Barber permission to receive the honour, which has been approved by French socialist President Francois Hollande.
The proposal to honour Mr Barber will have been supported by French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault. The editor’s name may have been put forward by the French ambassador to London.
Last night Eurosceptic MPs suggested the award was payback for the FT’s favourable coverage of the EU in the run-up to June’s historic referendum and its pessimistic view of Britain’s prospects ever since a majority of voters backed Brexit.
Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said Mr Barber should refuse an award for ‘furthering the interests of a foreign government’.
He pointed out the Queen would have to approve Mr Barber’s award under rules dating back to Elizabeth I – who is reported to have said, ‘My dogs shall not wear other people’s collars.’
Mr Rees-Mogg told the Mail: ‘I would be surprised if the Queen allowed him to accept it, let alone wear it. It doesn’t seem to me to meet the normal requirements for accepting an honour from a foreign power, such as military service.
‘It appears this is being given for helping a foreign power achieve its foreign policy objectives.’
Tory MP Philip Davies drew comparisons with David Cameron’s discredited honours for Remain supporters.
‘It is good to see other countries also give out honours for losing referendums,’ he said.
‘If they give him the Legion d’Honneur for losing the referendum then presumably they’d have made him President if Remain had won.’
Ukip MP Douglas Carswell accused Mr Barber of spearheading the ‘Continuity Remain’ campaign.
‘Whatever you think about the FT it’s hardly been objective in its coverage. It’s extraordinary how many commentators not only fawn over the great and the good but accept their baubles too,’ he said.
‘It looks like this is a reward for Mr Barber running not only favourable coverage to the EU project in the run up to the referendum but also for spearheading the Continuity Remain campaign afterwards.
‘At least the FT – which backed a prices and incomes policy in the 1970s, and Britain joining the Exchange Rate Mechanism in the 1980s and the Euro in the 1990s – has been consistently wrong.’
Mr Barber apparently intended to send the tweet as a private message to a friend.
He added the words: ‘Morning LW I wanted to share this with you – confidentially because not good publicity in UK right now.’
The letter in his post appeared to be written by Sylvie Bermann, the French Ambassador to London.
It said: ‘Dear Lionel, I am pleased to inform you that, on the proposal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the embassy, the French President has appointed you to the rank of Chevalier in the Ordre National de la Legion d’Honneur by decree of July 6, 2016.
‘Through this award, France wants to recognise your remarkable career, your contribution to highquality journalism and the Financial Times’ positive role in the European debate.
‘If you agree, it will be my pleasure to present you with the insignia of Chevalier at a ceremony at the French Residence in London on a date convenient to you.’
The FT is regarded as the voice of the City of London but drew fire for its backing of the Remain campaign and, after the country voted to Leave, critics have accused it of talking down the British economy.
On the day of the referendum, it warned that leaving the EU would damage ‘not only the UK but Europe and the West’.
After the Brexit vote it argued the Britain had ‘cut itself adrift’, ‘casually wandered into a new world of risk’ and faces a ‘new diminished place in the world’.
The FT was bought by the Japanese company Nikkei last year in an £844million deal.
Its print circulation is down nearly 6 per cent on a year ago.
Of the 198,396 copies sold on an average day in May, only 60,928 were in the UK, according to the latest figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
Just 29,789 were bought by British customers paying the full cover price of £2.70, with the rest made up from subscriptions by readers and companies, as well as bulk sales, for example to airlines and hotels.
‘An honour from a foreign power’