Harvey Weinstein stripped of his CBE

Harvey Weinstein has been stripped of his CBE.Harvey Weinstein has been stripped of his CBE.

The former movie mogul, 68, was granted an honorary CBE, for his contribution to the British film industry, in 2004.

A notice in The Gazette, the UK’s official public record, said: “The Queen has directed that the appointment of Harvey Weinstein to be an Honorary Commander of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, dated 29 January 2004, shall be cancelled and annulled and that his name shall be erased from the Register of the said Order.”

The decision comes five months after Weinstein was jailed for two counts of sexual assault.After one of the most high-profile trials in recent years, Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison for sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and raping an aspiring actress in 2013.

Since the first claims were made against him in October 2017, over 100 women - including former employees and A-list stars - have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct. He has vehemently denied all accusations.

Honours can been removed on the advice of the forfeiture committee and with the approval of the Queen.

The committee considers whether the holder of an honour has brought the system into disrepute.

Senior Labour MP Chi Onwurah has been calling for the CBE to be removed from Weinstein since 2017, the year several women came forward to allege serious sexual misconduct.nnouncing his CBE in 2004,

Weinstein said at the time: “My life and my career have been greatly influenced and enriched by great British film-makers and authors and so I am especially honoured and humbled to be receiving the CBE.”

Prosecutors in Los Angeles have filed a request to extradite Weinstein from New York, in a bid to try the disgraced Hollywood producer on five counts of sexual assault.

If successful, it would pave the way for Weinstein, the money and the power behind some of the biggest Hollywood films of the past 25 years, to be put on trial again. 

Reference: Independent: Rachel McGrath 1 day ago: 18/09/2020