The Rt. Rev. James Jones, the former Bishop of Liverpool, has been given a knighthood. He chaired the Hillsborough Inquiry panel which finally got to the truth about the Hillsborough disaster. So we owe him and the panel a great debt of gratitude.

But a knighthood? He will go to Buckingham Palace to be hit on the shoulder by Her Majesty whose governments over – what was it? – 29 years resisted all calls for justice for the victims and their families, and whose police lied and covered up the truth all that time. None of that is unusual, of course – we all remember the Birmingham Six, the Guildford Four, etc., etc.

Don’t accept this tatty award, change your mind, James. The only thanks you need are the thanks from the victims and their families. And you’ve got that beyond measure. And from the rest of us, who weep over the injustices built into our system. As an ex-bishop you presumably believe that “the powers that be are ordained by God … For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad” (Romans 13:1, 3). But when the powers that be go bad,  you should resist them. You certainly shouldn’t accept their rewards. Change your mind – or, in more biblical language, repent.

In any case, what’s this Empire you want to become a knight of?