Roll of dishonour

LEAVE aside the reservations many may have about some celebrities on the honours List, or the politicians’ motives in putting them forward. As always, opinions will differ on who deserves what.

But, showbiz apart, surely two names on today’s list simply don’t belong there.

One is Cressida Dick, the officer in charge of one of the darkest episodes in the history of the Metropolitan Police, when a Brazilian electrician was shot dead after a bungled operation in which he was mistaken for a suicide bomber.

Jean Charles de Menezes’s family can be forgiven for feeling affronted that she should now be honoured with a CBE.

More disturbing is sir David Manning’s appointment as a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order. For as foreign policy adviser to Tony Blair, he was the key aide who helped forge the former Prime Minister’s awesomely misjudged (and shockingly undemocratic) secret pact with George Bush to invade iraq.

how could the Queen’s advisers even consider honouring sir David further, while we still await the long-delayed Chilcot report on that shameful war, in which he could face severe criticism?

These two appointments are classic examples of the Establishment closing ranks around its own. And displaying its contempt for the rest of us.