Putt launched a review, which has concluded that “there are exceptional grounds in which an award won in competition should be reviewed and possibly rescinded”.
The organisation will consider whether to revoke an award for “proven dishonesty, and the very rare instance of a winner being convicted of a serious criminal offence resulting in a prison sentence”.
Winners could lose their awards if they receive a prison sentence of at least three months, whether suspended or not, or are “proven to have used duplicitous and/or illegal methods in the course of making their work”.
However, the rules will not apply to people who won awards before 2025.
“We thought very carefully about whether we could try to apply this criteria retrospectively now, or introduce a moratorium,” Putt wrote.
“Our awards span the last 78 years. Where would we reasonably draw the line? Could we choose to only look back one, five or 50 years?
“We agreed it would be impossible to do this properly. So we will look forward and apply this criteria to all competitive awards presented from 2025 onwards.
“No solution is perfect and there may be instances where the outcomes of this review are tested in the future, so we will review these principles and processes along with our other awards rules every year.”
