The manufacture of some British medals is to be off-shored to France according to reports this morning. This will be the first time that any top British honour has been manufactured abroad and the news has apparently provoked anger.
It is understood that the CBE medal, the Distinguished Service Order, The Order of the Bath, the Order of St Michael and The Order of St George are amongst those to now be made in France. Arthus-Bertrand, the company set to make the awards, was founded in Paris in 1803, 12 years before Napoleons defeat at Waterloo, and even supplied medals for campaigns against Britain. Arthus-Bertrand has been named on a shortlist with seven British businesses following a tendering process by the Crown Commercial Service. British medal makers criticised the move, blaming the European Union and its tendering rules.
Both the Telegraph and the Daily Mail have focused, this morning, on the uproar from our own military veterans, the later quoting one saying “Can you imagine the French allowing the Légion d’honneur to be made in Germany? When this country awards medals to its soldiers, sailors, airmen and citizens they should be made in the UK.”
It certainly is hard to conceive of a point in time where the French, regardless of EU tending rules, would consider the manufacture of their top honours abroad, but does it really matter?
What do you think about this news? Are the papers this morning making a big fuss about nothing? Does it really matter where a bit of metal is made, surely it is more about recognising the acts of the recipient?
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Another reason to vote to leave the EU.