I DON'T know how exactly the decision to take away a knighthood comes about, but I like to imagine it involves Her Majesty storming into No 10 and telling the PM that they can sort it out his way, or they can sort it out Windsor stylee, but it's getting sorted the (expletive) out.

I'm not sure why, but I always imagine this scene ending in a celebratory fist-bump.

So that's my… sorry, what's this? Oh that's right, yeah. We can't call him "Sir Fred" anymore. The deed might not have been done exactly like I imagine, but it's been done.

And now there's one less knight at this particular round table of aged pop stars and giants of industry.

What's the official protocol in a situation like this? What do we call the man? "Mister Fred"? "Citizen Fred"? "Little Freddie Poopiepants the Big Dumb Meanie"?

I assume that last one will be enacted into law sometime soon – the Government knows when it's onto a winner, and Fred-bashing is good for business.

There are many things that anger me about our current economic climate, not the least of which is that it has of late forced me to think mildly sympathetic things about the No Longer Sir Fred Goodwin.

Now before you take lighter to torch and flick the end of the pitchfork to make sure it's still sharp, let me clarify that I am not outing myself as a charter member of the Not Sir Fred fan club.

If there are reasonable questions to be asked about how he lost his knighthood, there are equally reasonable questions about what in the name of the banking sector he was doing with one in the first place.

But I could take The Artist Formerly Known As Sir Fred or I could leave him.

I'm more miffed about Britain at large. Because yet again, Britain has been presented with an opportunity to look in the mirror and has instead sprinted for the nearest window.

The easiest way to do this is by simply ignoring what's going on in your own country in favour of the altogether simpler pleasure of laughing condescendingly at what's going on elsewhere.

Ahahaha, look at those frightful little Greeks shouting in the streets. Look at their funny moustaches, look! What japes. And did Newt Gingrich say something ridiculous? In Nevada? How delicious!

But of course, every now and then it behoves the more thoughtful Briton to cast eyes to this more refined isle.

In those times, it's best to have a nice panto plot to follow. Who's the baddie this week? Sir Fred? Booooo! And of course, just as no British person could ever recall having bought The News of the World once its nefarious ways were uncovered, it seems now that a mysterious amnesia has descended on this isle in regards to a time when everybody might have been cheering on Don't Call Me Sir Fred as he engaged in the sort of behaviour that now sees him vilified.

Back then it was one collective joyride in which plenty of people did well and plenty of people enjoyed the fact that once again Britain got to look like Big Daddy on the international stage.

So, where's the national discussion about that? Erm. (Cough.) Hey look, it's Fred! Boooooo!

I don't lose sleep over Fred Goodwin, I lose sleep over George Osborne, the man tasked with guiding Britain through the direst crisis since the Great Depression.

Some people have suggested that our Chancellor of the Exchequer might not be up to the task, and that his austerity-happy plans may owe more to rigid Thatcherite dogma than any reaction to what's happened in Britain in the last several years.

I have read two leaders on how thoroughly George Osborne is driving this country's economy off a Thelma-and-Louise-style cliff.

One was in the New York Times, the other was in the New Yorker. There's a clever clue in the titles as to whether either of those are British.

Don't get me wrong, there's some sniping in the usual British quarters about where the Government's getting it wrong. But I defy anyone to show me where it gets the attention of those wacky southern Europeans (who, it should be said, do matter to Britain), the likes of Mr Gingrich (who matters not a bit) or Sans-Sir Fred (who matters no more).

It seems most of this country would rather focus on wackiness elsewhere and panto villainy here.

And we'll get what we deserve.