Gordon Brown Blocked Steve Jobs From Honorary Knighthood

Apple CEO Steve Jobs turned down an invitation from then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown to speak at the Labour Party conference of 2009. Just another denied request for Jobs to work a stage, but this one would come back to bite him. Brown blocked a request by a senior Labour MP to have Jobs knighted for his services to technology, according to a new report from the Telegraph.

The former MP, who left Parliament at the last election, said: "Apple has been the only major global company to create stunning consumer products because it has always taken design as the key component of everything it has produced.

"No other CEO has consistently shown such a commitment."

Apple was aware of the proposal, he said, and it reached the final stages of approval, but was rejected by Downing Street.

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.

The former Prime Minister's office did not respond to a query.

Read the full story at the Telegraph.