However, a Cabinet Office spokesman said it was possible that as a result of the Jimmy Savile case, the Honours Forfeiture Committee might reconsider the rules.

BBC: Sir Jimmy Savile after receiving his knighthood in 1996

SNP, which opposes the honours system, and might even have diminished Mr Connery in the eyes of nationalist-minded Scots for whom titles are the epitome of what is wrong with Britain.

ECONOMIST: Mr Bond

But if the Forfeiture Committee were to look in any thorough way at why Sir Fred received his gong in the first place, it might draw wider conclusions about how these honours are awarded to business leaders in general that might suggest they should be handed out rather more sparingly.

BBC: Do business leaders deserve their gongs?