100 Response Accepted

Posthumous honours forfeiture policy

Recommendation

The Cabinet Office should re-examine the policy on posthumous forfeiture, in order to consider the perspectives of victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
- In September 2021, the Cabinet Office updated its guidance on honours forfeiture to allow for a formal statement to be published where a forfeiture had taken place posthumously (Government Response, Cabinet Office, September 2021).
- In May 2023, the government confirmed that the Cabinet Office had re-examined the policy on posthumous forfeiture, considering the perspectives of victims and survivors of child sexual abuse (Government Response to IICSA Final Report, HM Government, May 2023).
How was this evidence gathered?
Evidence searched by claude-opus-4-6 on 10 Apr 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
Jurisdiction
UK-wide
Section Reference
I
Response
Accepted
Accepted UK Government
22 May 2023

On 30 September 2021, the Cabinet Office updated its guidance in relation to honours forfeiture. The policy allows for a formal statement to be published in instances where forfeiture proceedings would have been initiated if the deceased recipient was living and convicted in a court of law.

Read Full Response
Source
Inquiry IICSA
Report Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse Linked to Westminster Investigation Report 25 Feb 2020
Responsible Bodies
Cabinet Office Primary
Recommendation age 6.1 yrs
Last formal update 1054 days ago