Wiley’s MBE is under review after anti-Semitic rant, confirms Cabinet Office

6 August 2020, 14:30 | Updated: 6 August 2020, 14:35

Wiley Performs at the O2 Academy Brixton - London in 2018
Wiley Performs at the O2 Academy Brixton - London in 2018. Picture: Getty

A case has been launched against the rapper by the The Honours Forfeiture Committee following his rant on Twitter last month.

Wiley's MBE is under review after his anti-Semitic rant last month.

The UK rapper was awarded the honour in 2018 for services to music, but the Cabinet Office has confirmed that the Honours Committee has launched a case to have him stripped of the title.

A letter from the Cabinet Office said the Forfeiture Committee can consider cases for several reasons including "being found guilty of a criminal offence" and "behaviour that is deemed to bring the honours system into disrepute."

Meanwhile a separate petition has been launched to mandate the "automatic forfeiture" of racist recipients.

At the time of writing this article it has 1,513 of the 10,000 signatures required.

READ MORE: Wiley permanently suspended on Twitter for anti-semitic remarks

The news comes after Wiley apologised for "generalising" Jewish people with his comments and claimed he was "not racist".

He told Sky News: "I just want to apologise for generalising and going outside of the people who I was talking to within the workspace and workplace I work in. My comments should not have been directed to all Jews or Jewish people. I want to apologise for generalising, and I want to apologise for comments that were looked at as antisemitic."

Wiley - who was dropped by his management over his anti-semitic tweets - admits he should have kept things between him and his manager.

He said: "I'm not racist, you know. I'm a businessman. My thing should have stayed between me and my manager, I get that."And asked if he thought his comments were antisemitic, he added:

"My comments should not have been directed to all Jews or Jewish people."

The 41-year-old What Do U Call It? star also said that he will hand back his MBE and it was never in his possession in the first place. “Take it back. I’ve never had it in my possession except for a picture outside Buckingham Palace,” he claimed.

A spokesperson for the rapper’s former manager John Woolf confirmed that Wiley’s MBE is in Woolf’s possession, waiting to be collected by the rapper.

READ MORE: Wiley removed from Facebook and Instagram for antisemitic posts

Wiley's manager John Woolf said at the time that A-List Management had "cut all ties" with the rapper.

Woolf, who is Jewish, said: "To be very clear here. I do not support or condone what Wiley has said today online in any way shape or form. I am a proud Jewish man and I am deeply shocked and saddened but what he has chosen to say. I am speaking to key figures in my community in light of today's tweets. This behaviour and hateful speech is not acceptable to me."

Wiley's account on Twitter has been permanently banned on the basis of its hateful conduct policy.

The social media platform said in a statement: "Let us be clear: hateful conduct has absolutely no place on our service and we strongly condemn antisemitism. We are sorry we did not move faster and are continuing to assess the situation internally. We deeply respect the concerns shared by the Jewish community and online safety advocates, and we will continue to work closely with government, NGOs, civil society partners and our industry peers to tackle antisemitism on Twitter."

READ MORE: When Wiley did a huge U-Turn on Glastonbury Festival

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