Wellington: A well-known New Zealand businessman who was found with hundreds of child sex abuse images gave up his knighthood Tuesday before it was stripped from him.
Ron Brierley last month pleaded guilty to three charges in an Australian court, sparking a rarely invoked procedure to strip him of the honour he received more than 30 years ago.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said her intention was to remove the title from Brierley if he hadn’t written first to relinquish it. Ardern said Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II had been informed, and that Brierley will no longer be able to use the honorific “Sir.”
updated: May 04 2021, 16:02 ist
Disgraced New Zealand businessman Ron Brierley has surrendered his knighthood after admitting to possessing child pornography, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern s office said Tuesday.
Ardern moved to strip Brierley of the honour last month after the Sydney-based octogenarian pleaded guilty to possessing images of child abuse.
But Ardern s office said he instead wrote to Queen Elizabeth II tendering his resignation as a knight. Ron Brierley may no longer use the title sir and he has been asked to return his insignia, a spokesman said in a statement.
Brierley, 83, was arrested at Sydney airport in December 2019, when police found large amounts of child pornography on his laptop and hard drives during a luggage search.
Ron Brierley.
Photo: Getty Images
Brierley had pleaded guilty last month to three charges of possessing child sex abuse material in the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney, having been arrested at Sydney Airport in 2016.
The 83-year-old will no longer be allowed to use the title Sir and has been asked to return his insignia.
The corporate raider - as he s usually referred to - founded Brierley Investments, which was one of New Zealand s largest most successful and glamorous companies of the 1980s.
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Disgraced New Zealand businessman Ron Brierley has surrendered his knighthood after admitting to possessing child pornography, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's office said Tuesday.
Ron Brierley child abuse case: I m the same person as always
4 May, 2021 05:00 AM
10 minutes to read
Ron Brierley leaving Forbes Chambers in central Sydney following an appearance in court in connections with his guilty plea for the possession of objectional material April 30, 2021.
Ron Brierley leaving Forbes Chambers in central Sydney following an appearance in court in connections with his guilty plea for the possession of objectional material April 30, 2021.
NZ Herald Ironically, of course, I m exactly the same person as I have always been. These were the words of Ron Brierley - no knighthood now - just three months after his arrest for possession of child