Disgraced Act MP John Banks will give up his seat in Parliament on Friday but is unlikely to be stripped of the royal honour he received three years ago if he is convicted of an electoral rort, Prime Minister John Key says.
Banks was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours, for services to local body affairs.
In August, he may be convicted after being found guilty last week of knowingly filing a false electoral return during his bid for the Auckland mayoralty in 2010.
That has raised questions about whether he should keep the honour.
Yesterday, Mr Key said he would give some consideration to that - probably after the September election - but offered clues as to what his decision might be.