06/10/2004
NEWS STORY
One of the rumours doing the rounds in Bournemouth, where the Conservative party is holding its annual conference, is that Tony Blair's government could be on the brink of handing Bernie Ecclestone a knighthood.
According to The Daily Telegraph, Ecclestone could be on Sports Minister Richard Caborn's list of possible knighthoods, which will be handed to Blair in due course.
That said, it's highly unlikely that Blair would recommend Bernie for a 'gong'.
There is still unease regarding the £1m donation that the F1 supremo made to the Labour Party shortly after it came to power, allegedly an attempt to bribe the government into exempting the sport from its tobacco ban.
Following a media, and public outcry, the Labour party handed back the money, though it allowed tobacco sponsorship of F1 to continue.
Should Ecclestone receive a knighthood, this combined with the ongoing 'Silverstone saga', would be 'cannon fodder' for the media and Blair's political enemies. Therefore it's unlikely to happen, certainly at this time.
Besides, with almost £3bn in the bank - even if it's in the wife's account - who needs an outdated title?