Petition to strip Richard Branson of knighthood gets 13,000 signatures after billionaire seeks $620M bailout
Thousands of people are backing calls for Sir Richard Branson to have his knighthood removed.
A petition has been signed by more than 13,000 people which describes the business magnate a 'disgrace to his country'. He had asked the UK government for a $620 million (£500 million) bailout for Virgin Atlantic even though he reportedly has not paid income tax for 14 years.
Branson came under fire last month after Virgin Atlantic staff were asked to go on eight weeks of unpaid leave as the airline industry was thrown into chaos over the coronavirus pandemic. The airline's founder, who reportedly has a net worth of $4.2 billion, also offered to mortgage Necker Island, his home in the Caribbean as collateral to save the company.
Around 49% of the company is owned by the US airline Delta. The founder of the petition revealed, "What he’s doing is wrong. You can’t beg for the UK to pour money to bailout a half-American company when you’re sitting on an island wherever you are not paying tax," Metro reports.
The petition also slammed Virgin Care for suing the NHS for an unknown amount in 2017 over a dispute regarding the procurement process for contracts. The petition starter also said that given so many people have signed, it goes to show how many are angry about Branson's record.
"You’re not going to get him stripped of his knighthood but this is how people are feeling, it’s just the level of resentment," the petition starter said. The activist, 26, asked not to be identified and had shared the petition on his new social media network called Dunya Stays Mad (Dunya is the Arabic word for the world).
In 2017, the NHS had paid an undisclosed amount to Sir Richard's Virgin Care after the company had sued six Surrey clinical commissioning groups NHS England and Surrey County Council. "The bottom line is he’s suing the NHS – he sued the taxpayer. Now he’s coming here asking you “can you bail us out?” it’s just crazy," the petition starter added.
A spokesman for Virgin said, "Richard spends the vast majority of his time starting not-for-profit ventures and raising millions for charity through speeches and other charitable engagements. Since he gives 100 per cent of any monies he earns from these activities to charity, it makes no difference for his personal tax purposes whether he is located in the UK or the BVI (British Virgin Islands)."
Many social media users took to commenting online and were in agreement that Branson should not be bailed out by the taxpayer. One such user wrote, "Not only is Branson himself not domiciled in the UK, nor is Virgin Group Holdings. There should be no bail-outs from HMG for any company not registered in the UK."
"He's led a charmed life up to now. The taxpayer definitely should NOT be bailing him out. The last time I looked he was worth around £4bn. Let him put his hand in his own pocket," another user wrote. A third added, "For sure Branson has not played fair.He has drunk from the cup of everything good this country has to offer him, including using our culture, our flag, titles etc to his advantage & made a fortune.But seriously trying to think what it is he has put back? Certainly not his taxes."