Select a region
Long time Guernsey resident, Sarah Griffith has returned her MBE in protest at the former head of the Post Office being awarded and then retaining a CBE despite growing awareness of the scandal engulfing the organisation.
Paul Vennells announced yesterday that she will return her CBE after more than a million people signed a petition calling for it to be stripped from her as more people learned of her knowledge of the injustices suffered by hundreds of sub-post masters in the UK.
However, that came too late for Ms Griffiths who had already decided to post hers back to the honours committee, along with a letter addressed to King Charles III explaining her reasons for doing so.
Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells to hand back her CBE with immediate effect after fallout from IT scandal
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) January 9, 2024
Follow live https://t.co/fhuc9EvyWA
Ms Griffiths had been awarded the MBE in 2013 for her services to charity.
Initially her charity work focused on countries affected by natural disasters with her setting up Bridge 2 Sri Lanka in 2005 and then Bridge 2 Haiti in 2010 to help people affected by a tsunami and earthquakes in those countries.
At the time Ms Griffiths was awarded her MBE, the BBC reported that "she continues to raise funds for people who are in need, including those affected by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, where she has sent more than 150 shelter boxes".
Ms Griffiths charitable work has also included supporting refugees at camps in Greece and France, along with campaigning to change the abortion law in Guernsey in the 1990s and in support of efforts to legalise assisted dying in the last decade.
Pictured: Sarah Griffith MBE and fellow assisted dying campaigner, Doug Wilson (2018).
Ms Griffith's decision to return her MBE was shared with her family, who she says are in full support.
She shared a public post on Facebook with a copy of the letter she addressed to Sir Chris Wormald who sits on the committee overseeing the Honours system.
She wrote to tell him that she is disillusioned with the honours system and that she no longer wishes to be a part of it.
This is not just related to the Post Office scandal but also to the way the system allowed Liz Truss to award honours after just 49 days as Prime Minister.
"When I was awarded the MBE back in 2014, I felt very humbled to have been nominated by people in my community for this award and it is not lost on me why and how the whole system should work," she wrote.
Ms Griffith's decision to return her MBE was supported by a letter to the King explaining her motives.
This action has been widely supported by people who know Ms Griffith with many commenting on her Facebook post to say "good on you" or "well done".
Others exclaimed how Ms Griffith is "thoroughly deserving" of her MBE with some saying they are saddened that she has felt the need to return it while supporting her decision to do so.
Sarah Griffith: Five things I'd change about Guernsey
Guernsey campaigners back latest dignity in death court case
Deputy could face formal complaint over assisted dying comments
Rihoys' carpenters help refugees in 'horrific' conditions
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.