Alan Bates, who fought tirelessly for subpostmasters wrongly accused of fraud, has been knighted in the King’s Birthday Honours.
Others recognised in the list include former prime minister Gordon Brown, who received a Companion of Honour, the highest award and artist Tracey Emin and actor Imelda Staunton, who were both made dames.
Accessories designer Anya Hindmarch was also made a dame, The Thick of It writer Armando Iannucci received a CBE and cyclist Mark Cavendish was knighted.
Duran Duran frontman Simon Le Bon fellow singer Rebecca Ferguson and Countdown’s Susie Dent were among the showbiz names to be made MBEs.
In the world of sport, former cyclist Chris Boardman and former Liverpool midfielder Graeme Souness were made CBEs, while former England footballer Karen Carney was made an OBE.
More than 1,000 people from across the UK received honours in today’s list.
Mr Bates, a former subpostmaster himself, set up the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance after thousands of postmasters were incorrectly accused of stealing money due to a faulty computer system called Horizon.
He was played by Toby Jones in the recent hit ITV drama about the scandal.
Mr Bates, who previously rejected an OBE honour, said he was honoured to receive a knighthood, adding: ‘The time I was asked about the OBE… I felt it would have been quite offensive to many of the group if I’d accepted it.
‘But I do know that I’ve had hundreds of emails and letters of support over the years and a lot of people do seem to think that I should receive some sort of recognition for the work that I’ve done for them or on their behalf.
‘I know I’m the recipient of it and all the rest of it, but it’s on behalf of the group as well – and recognition of the horrendous things that have happened to them and the story’s not over yet.’
Sir Alan said many people were ‘still suffering’ and the campaigners would go back to the courts if necessary, adding ‘if we need to raise the funding for doing such a thing, I’m sure the nation will support us’
Former Labour leader Mr Brown said he felt ‘slightly embarrassed’ about being made a Companion of Honour, which only 65 people at any one time can receive, adding that he preferred to recognise ‘unsung, local heroes’.
Dame Tracey, whose famous works include an unmade bed, said: ‘Dame Tracey has a good ring to it. I’m very, very happy. Another brilliant surprise in my life.’
The Crown actress Dame Imelda said she was ‘thrilled’ to be made a dame for her services to drama and charity.
She added: ‘I feel genuinely humbled to be recognised on the same level as the amazing actresses, all the great dames, who have led the way for so many of us.”
Iannucci said he was ‘proud’ to work in the British television and film industry.
He added: ‘It’s the best in the world, yet weirdly I’ve been spending more and more of my energy defending our public service television from attacks on its independence and funding.
‘I’ll take this award as a cue to keep going.’
The youngest recipient on the list was 20-year-old Shamza Butt who received a British Empire Medal for her work at the voluntary development programme National Citizen Service on behalf of young people.
Harold Jones was the oldest recipient, who at 100 years old received a British Empire Medal for his fundraising for motor neurone disease charities in Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands.
Award organisers said 64% of recipients were people who showed ‘outstanding work’ in their communities either in a voluntary or paid capacity, adding that 66% of recipients lived outside London and the South East.
Of the 1,077 people honoured in the 2024 list, 509 were women – representing 48% of the total – and 10% of all successful candidates were from an ethnic minority background.
At CBE level and above, 40% of recipients were women.
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