Hamed's former trainer Brendan Ingle said it will be a "terrible blow" to the former featherweight.

"He will be very upset," said Ingle. "It is really sad the way things have turned out. He was a fantastic champion."

Mr Ingle said the boxer, his family, and the whole of the Sheffield community were extremely proud when Hamed received his award.

But he added: "The point is you have got to have sympathy for (Anthony) Burgin - he was the innocent party."

Hamed was driving his £320,000 (€475,839) Mercedes McLaren at a speed of at least 90mph on the wrong side of the carriageway when he crashed head on with Mr Burgin's Volkswagen Golf in May 2005.

The 32-year-old, from Wyvern Gardens, Dore, Sheffield, walked free from Moorland open prison in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, in September, after serving just 16 weeks.

Burgin, whose car was stopped and propelled backwards by the impact, suffered fractures to every major bone in his body.

Notice of the award's withdrawal was given in the London Gazette, an official newspaper of the Crown, on December 12.

It read: "The Queen has directed that the appointment of Naseem Hamed to be a Member of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, dated 31 December 1998, shall be cancelled and annulled and that his name shall be erased from the Register of the said Order."

A spokeswoman for the Cabinet Office said it did not comment on individual cases, but withdrawal of an honour was "extremely rare".

She said: "Forfeiture will be considered if evidence comes to light that someone has done something which shows they shouldn't have received an honour."

Hamed was not available for comment.