Mugabe must be stripped of knighthood

3.20.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 29th Apr 2008

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Scores of children and babies have been locked up in filthy prison cells in Harare as Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's president, sinks to new depths in his campaign to force the opposition into exile before an expected run-off in presidential elections. Lib Dem Shadow Foreign Secretary Edward Davey has written to Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell, who chairs the Forfeiture Committee, urging him to revoke Robert Mugabe's honorary Knighthood. 16 MPs, led by Liberal Democrat MP Paul Keetch, have called on the Government to strip Mugabe of his honour.

Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat Shadow Foreign secretary said "The British public will be shocked and outraged that Robert Mugabe still retains a knighthood. We must revoke this honour, not only for the integrity of our own honours system, but also to send the message that the British people will stand shoulder to shoulder with the Zimbabwean people."