The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Critics rail at CBE award for outgoing train boss
Timing of Carne’s honour ‘unfortunate’ admits DoT – while actress Thompson is made a dame
The decision to bestow a royal honour on the Network Rail boss against a backdrop of huge disruption for train passengers in recent weeks has been criticised.
Mark Carne receives a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, on a list that also sees Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson made a dame.
The Department for Transport admitted the timing of the announcement of the outgoing chief executive’s award for services to the rail industry following timetabling issues is “unfortunate” but added that recent problems should not detract from his overall service.
But one union boss likened the timing of the honour to “rewarding the captain of the Titanic for jumping ship”.
Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association, said: “Frustrated passengers will see no honour in that at all.”
Remarkable females including a nun fighting modern slavery and a businesswoman who made her fortune in fake tan are among those honoured in this 100th anniversary year of women’s suffrage – although men outnumber women on the list.
As the NHS celebrates 70 years since its foundation, medics are recognised for their dedication, with health sector workers making up 12% of the 1,057 people honoured in the list.
Nanny McPhee and Remains of the Day star Dame Emma, 59, who is described in the official citation of the honours committee as one of the UK’s most versatile and celebrated actresses, receives her honour for services to drama.
Following a wave of terror attacks which struck the UK in 2017, former assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Mark Rowley, who led the national response, is honoured with a knighthood.
While there are no honours for local heroes involved in the response to the Grenfell Tower fire, the Cabinet has said it expects “acts of bravery and extraordinary community spirit” which emerged from the tragedy to feature on future lists.
Sporting stars are well represented among the recipients, with Premier League and England striker Jermain Defoe describing himself as “blessed and humbled” to be recognised with an OBE for his services to the charitable foundation set up in his name.
World heavyweight champion boxer Anthony Joshua is made an OBE for services to sport, while 20-year-old alpine skier Menna Fitzpatrick, Britain’s most successful winter Paralympian, is the youngest on this year’s list, picking up an MBE for services to Paralympic winter Olympic sport.
In the musical world, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite is honoured with an MBE, under her real name Niomi McLean-Daley, for services to music, while Mobo Awards founder Kanya King receives a CBE for services to music and culture.
Japan-born Nobel prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro, knighted for his services to literature, said he was “deeply touched to receive this honour from the nation that welcomed me as a small foreign boy”.
Renowned war correspondent Kate Adie is made a CBE for services to media, while Stacey Dooley, known for her BBC Three investigative series, receives an MBE for services to broadcasting.
In the business sphere, Judy Naake, who made millions selling St Tropez self-tanning products, initially from the back of her car, receives an MBE for services to entrepreneurship, the community and philanthropy.
Sister Imelda Poole, president of European anti-trafficking network Renate, receives an MBE for services to combating modern slavery.
Howard Tucker is awarded a CBE for services to international justice for his past work as a member of the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.