The Honours Forfeiture Committee: not as impressive as it sounds

During the week, David Cameron said that the Honours Forfeiture Committee would be looking into whether or not Sir Fred Goodwin should have his knighthood taken away. When I first heard this, I thought it sounded quite a sensible move.

But it looks a bit less impressive when you take a look at who is on the Honours Forfeiture Committee – five senior civil servants – and how they do their business, “the Committee normally conducts its business by correspondence”.

“I’ve asked five of my civil servants to write to each other” doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, does it?