Former Prime Minister George Brown Blocked Steve Jobs' Knighthood

A new Telegraph report claims that former Prime Minister George Brown refused to knight Steve Jobs in 2009 because he turned down an invitation to speak at the Labour Party conference.

Mr Jobs was snubbed despite the 2005 award of an honorary knighthood to Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft and a long-term rival. His friend Bono, the U2 front man, who collaborated with Apple on a special charity edition iPod, is also an honorary KBE.

The former MP was told by Downing Street that the decision was related to a failed attempt to attract Mr Jobs to Labour’s annual conference. Given his status as a superstar of business and technology, such an appearance would have been viewed as a coup for Mr Brown.

A spokeswoman for the former Prime Minister denied the allegations, "Mr Brown did not block a knighthood for Steve Jobs".

Read More [via Lawrence]