Multimillionaire backer of Reform UK was ‘virtually stripped of his OBE’ over a social media assault on Sir Sadiq Khan – and he should now undertake ‘gender sensitivity and variety coaching’
A multimillionaire has accused the Prime Minister of threatening to take away his OBE due to his previous controversial comments.
Charlie Mullins, the founder of Pimlico Plumbers, was first accused of ‘bringing the honours system into disrepute’ last September over comments he made in 2022.
The Honours Forfeiture Committee said at the time they were ‘minded to recommend to His Majesty that your OBE be revoked’.
Now, the Reform UK supporter has claimed Sir Keir Starmer tried to revoke his honour due to his past posts on social media about Sir Sadiq Khan.
In 2023, Mr Mullins was suspended from X – formerly Twitter – after he wrote ‘someone should kill’ Mr Khan in a discussion about ULEZ.
He was last week told that no action would be taken after Mr Mullins pledged to undertake ‘gender sensitivity and diversity training’.
Despite the case having been dropped, the 72-year-old has blasted Sir Keir for what he has claimed was a politically motivated attack.
‘It’s definitely politically motivated. I’m being victimised because I left the UK and said I’m not playing the game with them any more,’ he told the Daily Telegraph.
‘I’ve also made a big noise that they’re driving billionaires and millionaires, hard-working people, out of the country. So I’ve made quite a big noise about what I genuinely believe to be the truth.’
Charlie Mullins was first accused of ‘bringing the honours system into disrepute’ last September over comments he made in 2022
The Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan. In 2023,Mr Mullins was suspended from X – formerly Twitter – after he wrote ‘someone should kill’ Mr Khan in a discussion about ULEZ
Mr Mullins has blasted Sir Keir Starmer for what he has claimed was a politically motivated attack
He also claimed that the Labour government are trying to ‘destroy’ anybody that speaks out against them.
The leader of Reform UK has also waded into the controversy where he said Labour need to ‘leave Charlie alone’.
The Forfeiture Committee, which is convened on an ad-hoc basis by the Prime Minister and chaired by the Cabinet Secretary, have previously raised concerns about a ‘misogynistic’ comment Mr Mullins made on GB News about Carol Vorderman having her ‘t*** hanging out’.
He has also been accused of making racist jokes at the British Curry Awards and of making comments directed at transgender people in the workplace.
In response, Mr Mullins argued that the grounds for forfeiture had not been met and that his comments were protected under freedom of expression.
Lawyers for Mr Mullins said the businessman was struggling with mental health issues at the time of his remarks and that he had apologised.
Mr Mullins first received his OBE inthe 2015 New Year Honours while David Cameron was in No.10.
At the time, he was a supporter of the Tories and donated £22,735 to the party that year.
