Former Labour prime minister Anthony Charles Lynton Blair has been formally invested as a member of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, England’s oldest and most prestigious order of knights, despite well over a million people signing a petition asking for the honour to be rescinded.
The Iraq War architect, who has asked the press to refer to him as “Sir Tony” rather than Sir Anthony, was invested at a Garter Day ceremony at Windsor Castle on Monday, although the 96-year-old Queen did not attend the procession, according to the BBC.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair attends the Order Of The Garter Service at St George’s Chapel on June 13, 2022 in Windsor, England (Photo by Pool/Samir Hussein/WireImage)
Sir Tony’s receipt of England highest honour was not without controversy — perhaps unsurprisingly, given the fact that he was voted the worst living Briton as long ago as 2003, when he still held the country’s most powerful political office.
Over 1,160,000 people had signed a petition asking for the 69-year-old’s knighthood to be rescinded prior to his investiture, with petition creator Angus Scott accusing him of having “caused irreparable damage to both the constitution of the United Kingdom and to the very fabric of the nation’s society” and being “personally responsible for causing the death of countless innocent, civilian lives and [servicemen] in various conflicts.”
Perhaps most infamously, he sent British forces into war in Iraq on the basis that it possessed weapons of mass destruction which could strike British territory within 45 minutes, a claim which turned out to be false.
(Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
Also attending the procession were various protesters against Sir Tony, with Scott having called for people to “remind Blair he can never wash the blood off his hands” and various anti-war movements who regularly protest the former premier having been likely to turn out in any case.
Indeed, some sported Tony Blair masks along with fake blood and devil horns, to make their view of the Labour Party grandee, who has become very rich since leaving office, abundantly clear.
He is not only unpopular for his penchant for military misadventures, however, having also presided over a massive increase in immigration, among other things.
WINDSOR, ENGLAND – JUNE 13: Anti Blair Demonstrators at Windsor Castle on June 13, 2022 in Windsor, England. Tony Blair who was UK prime minister between 1997 and 2007, is being made a Knight Companion of the Noble Order of the Garter today. (Photo by Antony Jones/Getty Images)
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