Queen honours Emma Thompson, Tom Hardy and Keira Knightley
LONDON: Actress Emma Thompson and football legend Kenny Dalglish were on Friday named in Queen Elizabeth II’s honours list, but survivors and emergency responders to the Grenfell Tower disaster were notably absent as the first anniversary of the fire approaches.
Oscar-winner Thompson, famed for her roles in “Harry Potter” and “The Remains of the Day”, has been granted the title of Dame in the annual roll call of the great and the good of British society.
The 59-year-old — described in the official citation of the honours committee as one of the UK’s most versatile and celebrated actresses — is joined by actors Tom Hardy and Keira Knightley, who received the Order of the British Empire “for services to drama”.
Meanwhile, 67-year-old Dalglish, who won three European Cups as a Liverpool player and managed the club during the 1989 Hillsborough disaster when 96 fans were killed in a stadium crush, was awarded a knighthood. The Scot becomes Sir Kenny.
It is in recognition of “services to football, charity and the city of Liverpool” after his decades-long battle for justice for the victims of the tragedy, and for his work with his wife Marina’s charity which has raised more than £10 million (RM53.5 million) for breast cancer sufferers.
“I am hugely grateful,” Dalglish said.
“The enjoyment that I have derived from being involved in football for as long as I have is outstripped only by the sense that I’ve been hugely fortunate to have the right people around me at all times.”
The government has been forced to defend its decision to leave those involved in the London tower block fire which claimed 71 lives on June 14 off the list.
As well as prominent figures in the arts and sciences, honours are frequently bestowed on members of the emergency services and campaigners.
In December, an editorial on The Independent website said the failure to note the “heroes” of Grenfell in the New Year’s honours list “beggars belief”.