On 27 November 2003, poet and author Benjamin Zephaniah joined a live studio debate on Channel 4 News to discuss his decision to reject the OBE awarded to him by the late Queen. In conversation with ITN's Jon Snow, columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, and Conservative Peer Lord John Taylor, Zephaniah stated his case so convincingly that he persuaded Alibhai-Brown to return the MBE she had been awarded in 2001 for "services to journalism".

It was announced on 7 December 2023 that Benjamin Zephaniah has died aged 65.

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