A former star of BBC's Dragons' Den is continuing to use the titles 'Dr' and 'MBE' despite having been formally stripped of both honours, an investigation by the Daily Mail has revealed.
Honours Forfeited After Legal Dispute
Julie Meyer, a 59-year-old venture capitalist, was awarded an MBE in 2012 for services to entrepreneurship and received an honorary law doctorate from the University of Warwick in 2014. However, both accolades were later revoked.
The downfall stemmed from a £200,000 legal dispute with her former solicitors, Farrer & Co. In 2022, a British judge scolded Meyer for being 'selfish' after she repeatedly failed to attend court hearings or submit required documents, claiming she could not travel from Switzerland due to conjunctivitis and not having a Covid vaccine.
She was handed a six-month suspended sentence for contempt of court. As a direct consequence, Warwick University withdrew her honorary doctorate in 2022. The Cabinet Office then stripped her of her MBE in August 2025 for 'bringing the honours system into disrepute'.
Titles Still in Use Online and in Filings
Despite the formal revocations, Meyer continues to promote herself using the forfeited titles. On her LinkedIn profile, the Swiss-based CEO of VIVA Investment Partners describes herself as 'Dr Julie Meyer MBE'.
Official filings for her now-dissolved company, VIP Opportunity I LLP, recorded at an address in Wembley, also list her as 'Dr Julie Meyer MBE'. Her most recent accounts filing from July 2024 refers to her as 'Dr Julie Meyer', despite the doctorate being withdrawn two years prior.
A profile for 'Dr Julie Meyer MBE' was also visible on a website for Follow The Entrepreneur (FTE) Capital Markets, stating she had 'received her honorary doctorate for Ecosystem Economics and has been awarded an MBE by Elizabeth II'. The profile was removed after the Daily Mail made enquiries, but the website still lists her with the titles.
Meyer's Denial and Unusual Defence
When confronted, Meyer denied receiving any official correspondence about the MBE's removal and claimed the initials 'MBE' referred to a different organisation. 'The MBE which you appear to be referring to does not refer to the Member of the British Empire award. It refers to another organisation which was set up many years ago. This has nothing to do with the UK at all,' she stated.
On LinkedIn, she lists being a 'Member of the Board of EcosystemEconomics(r) Association (MBE)'. However, the Daily Mail found no evidence of this association's existence.
Meyer also claimed she had not been personally contacted by the institutions revoking the honours, arguing that 'one cannot revoke an award or an honour by posting something online'. The Cabinet Office confirmed recipients are informed before a public announcement, and Meyer's name appears on both the official gov.uk forfeiture list and in the London Gazette.
A University of Warwick spokesperson confirmed they wrote to her in 2022 when the doctorate was revoked and, upon learning she still uses the title, have now contacted her again to request its removal.
