Ken Livingstone says ‘no’ to New Year CBE

KEN Livingstone was offered a CBE in the New Year Honours but turned it down, he revealed yesterday.

The former Mayor of London said he turned down a gong for services to the Olympics because he does not think politicians should get honours.

“I was offered a CBE,” the 67-year-old revealed on his show on LBC Radio yesterday.

“I don’t believe politicians should get honours. You had this thing for years that any Tory MP who survived in house for 20 years automatically got a knighthood.

“You get the really disfiguring thing, these people who give £30,000 or £50,000 to a political party and then get an honour.

“I was paid very good money to be the Mayor of London and nothing beats the recognition you get when the people of 
the city elect you in the first place.”

Livingstone was London Mayor from 2000 to 2008 and helped secure the Olympics for the city.

The gong, which he told his wife about only yesterday, would, he said, have been for services to the Olympics rather than politics or news.

But he said that he did not need an honour for his efforts. “The pleasure I get is seeing that it all worked. We promised the IOC (International Olympic Committee) the best Olympics ever and that is what they got.

“I just don’t believe politicians should get all these gongs – someone who’s done vast amounts in the voluntary sector, I’ve no problem with all of that.”

The New Year Honours were dominated by the 2012 Games, with Olympians, Paralympians, and back room staff behind the highly-successful London 2012 recognised for their efforts.

Livingstone’s is not the only high-profile name missing from the honours roll. The 
Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle, who masterminded the £27 million opening ceremony, is said to have turned down an honour, while Hollywood film-maker Stephen Daldry, head of the Olympics ceremonies, is also absent.