Should David Beckham get a knighthood?

Why, I have asked, should anyone be given a peerage, knighthood, or some other award for just doing a job, particularly when that job was (a) also highly paid, (b) has been the result of a God-given talent, or as in some cases, (c) the reward for failure?

The news that David Beckham may be in line for a knighthood only serves to strengthen my feelings.

Yes, he was an outstanding footballer. Yes, he is nice chap and loves his family, but seriously, are these the best reasons the authorities can come up with for awarding a knighthood?

As I have written before, there are hundreds of people who, year after year on our behalf, put their lives at risk or devote their time and energy to helping others, often at their own expense.

Surely they are far more deserving of an honour than multi-millionaire sports stars, TV celebrities, actors, or failed politicians.

When it comes to honours I stand shoulder to shoulder with George Bernard Shaw who said: “Titles distinguish the mediocre, embarrass the superior, and are disgraced by the inferior”.

D. Walker

Barrowford