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Former DUP mayor stripped of honours following conviction of sex offence

Thomas Hogg was listed by the cabinet office among those who had forfeited their honours.

TUFZMTI5NDM3NTA0 Northern Ireland Elects — Pacemaker 28/10/19 Former DUP councillor Thomas Hogg appears at Laganside Court on Monday charged in relation to sexual offences involving a child. Thomas Hogg, 31, from Brae Hill Park in Belfast has resigned from the DUP and from Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council, where he was previously mayor. Mr Hogg is charged with sexual communication with a child and attempting to engage a child in a sexual activity. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker

Wed 23 August 2023 12:21am

Thomas Hogg, a former DUP mayor who resigned following the charges being brought against him in 2019, has had his honours removed by the Cabinet Office.

In 2021, Hogg was found guilty of an offence against a 15-year-old boy and was handed a three-month sentence, suspended for two years.

He was the mayor of Newtownabbey in 2014-15 and received an MBE in the 2016 Queen’s Birthday Honours, for services to local government.

The Cabinet Office advises the King on the removal of honours for a range of reasons.

The removal of the MBE means that Thomas Hogg will be asked to return the insignia to Buckingham Palace and will not be allowed to make any future reference to having the honour.

Senior figures within the Democratic Unionist Party asked for the MBE to be removed in March 2021, as originally reported by Sunday Life.

Related Topics: DUP

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