Rightly knighted

Now from Right and Left, from Ed Miliband to Simon Heffer, all are calling for Sir Fred to be stripped of his knighthood.

The real reason is that if you play with bees you are likely to be stung. The big question is whether Sir Fred, and a number of others, should have been awarded honours.

And, the answer is why not? If politicians, reformed convicts and unruly sportsmen and women can get honours, why not those who have made a valuable contribution to the financial sector?

Sir Fred came in that category, as someone that the Brown government thought had made an appropriate contribution to the financial welfare of UK Plc.

What we are all now debating is the collapsed of RBS, his massive pension entitlement and his subsequent behaviour.

But that is no reason why his knighthood should be taken from him. Retrospective morality is as reprehensible as awarding honours to those who flood political party coffers with cash.

Victimising a single person for the collapse of the banking sector is vindictive. What is really needed is a proper investigation of what went wrong and, once the culprits are identified, putting them up before a judge to explain themselves.

In the meantime, all the bonuses and share options they received on the basis of bogus figures, they should be compelled to repay at the risk of losing all their assets, including the family home.

Sir Fred is not the only one who should be in the dock, but all those involved in massaging the figures. So he should not be singled out.

But, before we do, it is important to remember that the people who receive cheques from insurance companies on the death of a loved one may not see the financial sector in the same light as politicians and journalists who make nothing and add nothing of real value to UK Plc.