Several SAGE members are given gongs in Queen’s honours

Several members of the Government’s scientific advisory committee have received gongs – despite the possibility that their advice might be subject to a future inquiry.

Six confirmed members of SAGE (the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) are to be made OBE in recognition of their work during the pandemic.

However, Tory MPs said that the decision was ‘unwise and premature’ as some of their advice has been marked by controversy, and may be independently investigated in the future.

Boris Johnson has committed the UK government to an independent inquiry into the handling of the pandemic, which will examine decisions made by ministers and officials based on scientific advice.

Boris Johnson has committed the UK government to an independent inquiry into the handling of the pandemic

In Britain’s latest coronavirus news: 

  • Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled a local lockdown furlough scheme that will cover two thirds of employee pay-checks up to £2,100 a month for workers who are forced to stay off work because of coronavirus restrictions;
  • Coronavirus infection rates are are up to seven times higher in student areas than in any of England’s local authorities, testing data shows, and in Manchester’s Fallowfield 5 per cent of people tested positive in the first week of October;
  • Office for National Statistics data showed the UK economy grew by just 2.1 per cent in August, much lower than analysts had predicted and far below the 6.4 per cent expansion recorded in July; 
  • A row has erupted over PHE and Professor Whitty presenting MPs with ‘dodgy’ data claiming that coronavirus is spreading widely in pubs and cafes after it emerged only around 160 premises nationwide were included;  
  • Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds claimed the Chancellor’s Jobs Support Scheme is ‘forcing businesses to flip a coin over who stays and who goes’ because it is cheaper to employ one worker to do the same hours; 
  • London Mayor Sadiq Khan has warned the capital could face tougher restrictions as leafy Richmond becomes the worst-hit borough – but one report suggests the R rate in the city is below 1;
  • Ministers are considering using a computer algorithm to produce a ‘tailored shielding’ programme by considering people’s personal health and circumstances to work out whether they should be locked down;
  • Former Tory Treasury minister Lord O’Neill called for ‘true devolution’ to improve the coronavirus response and for a ‘tailored’ version of the furlough scheme;
  • Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, writing in the Daily Telegraph, said the Government had ‘lost control of the virus’ and urged ministers to ‘get a grip’. 

Former Brexit secretary David Davis said: ‘It may well be that members of Sage richly deserve an honour at some point, but this is not the point for a variety of reasons.

‘There may end up being a major inquiry, and that shouldn’t be biased. Receiving an honour may also bias how their advice is received.

‘So I think this is not wise, though it may not be wrong. Their advice has been controversial and has sometimes changed and was sometimes wrong, though this is unsurprising giving the difficult of responding to an unprecedented pandemic.

‘So while that is reasonable, it does make the early award of an honour unwise and premature.’

Tory MP Sir Desmond Swayne said: ‘Members of Sage work very hard and are thoroughly deserving. What I would say is it needs to be a lot more representative than it is.

‘While it would be churlish to exclude scientists from the list, when all this comes home to roost and the finger pointing starts, I don’t think an honour would save anyone.’

Former Brexit secretary David Davis said: 'It may well be that members of Sage richly deserve an honour at some point, but this is not the point for a variety of reasons'

Tory MP Sir Desmond Swayne said: 'Members of Sage work very hard and are thoroughly deserving. What I would say is it needs to be a lot more representative than it is'

Former Brexit secretary David Davis (left) said: ‘It may well be that members of Sage richly deserve an honour at some point, but this is not the point for a variety of reasons’. Tory MP Sir Desmond Swayne (right) said: ‘Members of Sage work very hard and are thoroughly deserving. What I would say is it needs to be a lot more representative than it is’

The scientists have recommended that pubs be shut, that the two-metre social distancing rule stays in place and that herd immunity be pursued – as well as saying that Covid is as deadly as Ebola.

Among those made OBE are Professor Graham Medley, an infectious disease specialist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Professor Medley, who chairs the subgroup on pandemic modelling, suggested that herd immunity was the only solution to tackling the virus.

He told the BBC: ‘We are going to have to generate what we call herd immunity’, which would require ‘a nice big epidemic’. 

Among those made OBE are Professor Graham Medley, an infectious disease specialist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Professor Calum Semple, Professor of Child Health and Outbreak Medicine at the University of Liverpool,will also receive a gong

Among those made OBE are Professor Graham Medley (left), an infectious disease specialist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Professor Calum Semple (right), Professor of Child Health and Outbreak Medicine at the University of Liverpool,will also receive a gong

Professor Catherine Noakes, an expert on airborne infection at the University of Leeds, opposed the Government's easing of the two-metre social distancing rule

Professor Julia Gog, a mathematics expert at the University of Cambridge, was honoured for her services to academia and response to the virus

Professor Catherine Noakes (left), an expert on airborne infection at the University of Leeds, opposed the Government’s easing of the two-metre social distancing rule. Professor Julia Gog (right), a mathematics expert at the University of Cambridge, was honoured for her services to academia and response to the virus.

Dr James Rubin, a behavioural expert at King's College London, is also a member of Sage who has been honoured for his services to public health during the pandemic

Professor Lucy Yardley, a health psychology expert at the University of Bristol and University of Southampton is also honoured

Dr James Rubin (left), a behavioural expert at King’s College London, is also a member of Sage who has been honoured for his services to public health during the pandemic. Professor Lucy  Yardley (right), a health psychology expert at the University of Bristol and University of Southampton is also honoured

Who is SAGE expert Professor Graham Medley who warned Britain could soon see 100 coronavirus deaths A DAY?

Professor Graham Medley started working at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 2015.

His main focus is on the transmission dynamics of infectious disease, according to his online profile.

It reads: ‘I am particularly interested in understanding how interventions are and should be designed to control infectious disease, and how models relate to policy development. 

‘The interaction of transmission with societal and political processes is of particular interest to me, and the focus of my work on HIV/AIDS.’

He was one of the first scientists to insist Britons need to change their behaviour to control the virus back in March. 

Since then, he has been highly vocal during the pandemic – often criticizing the Government’s response.

In June, Professor Medley – who was also the chair of pandemic modelling committee SPI-M – slammed Boris Johnson and top ministers claiming they didn’t take the threat of Covid-19 seriously until the crisis spiralled out of control.

He said scientists made it clear the virus ‘was going to cause an awful lot of death and disability’ early on.

But he spoke of his frustration at watching senior politicians ‘behaving in a way that suggested this was not something that was too serious’. 

 He said the warnings were made in February, weeks before the outbreak took off.

And in September, Professor Medley warned that Britain could be struck with 100 coronavirus deaths a day in three to four weeks.

He claimed the triple-figure toll was ‘inevitable’ as the virus remains dangerous to the community.

He arrived at the figure assuming a virus death rate of one per cent and 10,000 new infections being reported every day.

He told BBC Radio 4: ‘Even if (the death rate) is 0.8 per cent, which I think would be a great success in terms of treatment, it still means that we are going to see deaths increase.’ 

Research suggests that up to 70per cent of the population would need to become infected with coronavirus to achieve herd immunity.

The Government initially seemed to adopt the principle, before dismissing it and claiming it had never been policy.

In September, Professor Medle warned that Britain could be struck with 100 coronavirus deaths a day in three to four weeks.

He claimed the triple-figure toll was ‘inevitable’ as the virus remains dangerous to the community.

He arrived at the figure assuming a virus death rate of one per cent and 10,000 new infections being reported every day.

He told BBC Radio 4: ‘Even if (the death rate) is 0.8 per cent, which I think would be a great success in terms of treatment, it still means that we are going to see deaths increase.’  

Professor Calum Semple, Professor of Child Health and Outbreak Medicine at the University of Liverpool, called for a short national lockdown to slow the spread of the virus.

He also said that the virus was as deadly as Ebola, which has caused thousands of deaths across Africa, and criticised the Government for easing the lockdown.

Professor Catherine Noakes, an expert on airborne infection at the University of Leeds, opposed the Government’s easing of the two-metre social distancing rule.

She said in June: ‘There are too many cases in the community for us to consider going below two metres.’

Professor Julia Gog, a mathematics expert at the University of Cambridge, was honoured for her services to academia and response to the virus.

Dr James Rubin, a behavioural expert at King’s College London, is also a member of Sage who has been honoured for his services to public health during the pandemic.

In April, Dr Rubin said the British public has a right to know how ministers intend to end the coronavirus lockdown.

He told MPs transparency about the route back to normal life was needed in order to maintain public trust in the ‘difficult and costly’ social distancing restrictions.

He suggested a failure to be clear with the nation about the way forward risked backfiring because it is ‘very important that people have their expectations set on this’.

Professor Lucy Yardley, a health psychology expert at the University of Bristol and University of Southampton is also honoured.

Just last month, Professor Yardley criticized the Government’s ‘top-down rules’ that change ‘all the time.

She told the BBC: ‘I think it is a real problem that people are trying to follow top-down rules that are changing all the time and are different in different places and in different organisations.

‘We need less rule following and more working together to work out, in your individual situation, what is the best way to minimise the risk to the people around you.’ 

Other scientific, pharmaceutical and health experts who have been called upon during the pandemic were also honoured for their role in the pandemic.

Professor Stephen Holgate from the University of Southampton, who developed a Covid treatment, receives a knighthood for services to medical research

Emma Walmsley, the chief executive officer of pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), which has played a key role in the drive for the vaccine, is also made a dame

Professor Stephen Holgate (left) from the University of Southampton, who developed a Covid treatment, receives a knighthood for services to medical research. Emma Walmsley (right), the chief executive officer of pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), which has played a key role in the drive for the vaccine, is also made a dame

Professor Stephen Holgate from the University of Southampton, who developed a Covid treatment, receives a knighthood for services to medical research.

Emma Walmsley, the chief executive officer of pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), which has played a key role in the drive for the vaccine, is also made a dame.

In April, Ms  Walmsley warned that no coronavirus vaccine will be ready to manufacture on a mass scale until late next year.

She said millions of doses would not be produced until the second half of 2021, ‘if things go right’.

Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, who leads the Covid Symptom Study (CSS) app with health-science company ZOE, is made OBE.

Dr George Kassianos, national immunisation lead for the Royal College of General Practitioners, is also being recognised for his efforts during the pandemic by being made CBE for services to travel medicine and general practice.

Former chief scientific adviser for Scotland Professor Muffy Calder, vice principal and head of the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Glasgow has been made a dame.

A Cabinet Office spokesman said: ‘The independent Science and Technology Committee set a high bar for moving forward with recommendations at this time – and recognising that work in so many areas is on-going.

‘The Committee looked for vital, often voluntary, contributions to the pandemic response with frontline impact, alongside extraordinary career wide contributions.’ 

Who are the six OBE-receiving members of the Government’s SAGE committee and what did they say during the pandemic?

Professor Graham Medley

Professor Graham Medley, an infectious disease specialist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, was one of the first scientists to insist Britons need to change their behaviour to control the virus back in March.

Professor Graham Medley, an infectious disease specialist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, was one of the first scientists to insist Britons need to change their behaviour to control the virus back in March

Professor Graham Medley, an infectious disease specialist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, was one of the first scientists to insist Britons need to change their behaviour to control the virus back in March 

Speaking to  BBC Newsnight when Britain’s death toll stood at just 10,  Professor Medley said it will be too late to start reacting when the death toll begins to soar – and people should take it seriously early on

He said said his ideal way to process the outbreak would be to quarantine all vulnerable people in the north of Scotland and push everyone else into Kent and ‘have a nice big epidemic’ there so people could get it over with and become immune to virus, then bring society back together.

Admitting that was not possible, he said slowing down the outbreak and spreading cases out over a long period of time would be the best way to handle it.

Professor Medley said herd immunity – letting people become infected so they are no longer vulnerable – was only viable path through the health emergency.

He said lockdown would not steer the country out of the pandemic – only prevent a short-term spread – but would bring the economy to its knees.

He also claimed mounting unemployment, domestic violence and burgeoning mental health issues could be widespread if the normal functioning of society remained paralysed. 

And in May – ahead of the Government’s plan to reopen schools one month later – Professor Medley said the UK government’s scientific advice is made up of ‘educated quesswork’.

In a recording obtained by the Daily Telegraph, he said: ‘At the moment, we’re having to do it by making educated guesswork, and institution and experience, rather than being able to do it in some kind of semi-formal way.

‘But a half-good answer given before the decision is made is infinitely more useful than a perfect answer given after the decision is made.’

In June, Professor Medley – who was also the chair of pandemic modelling committee SPI-M – also slammed Boris Johnson and top ministers claiming they didn’t take the threat of Covid-19 seriously until the crisis spiralled out of control.

He said scientists made it clear the virus ‘was going to cause an awful lot of death and disability’ early on.

But he spoke of his frustration at watching senior politicians ‘behaving in a way that suggested this was not something that was too serious’.

In August, he said shutting pubs again to allow schools to reopen might be necessary as a ‘trade-off’ to stem a possible rise in coronavirus cases caused by 10 million children returning to the classroom.

He said most people would prioritise ‘the health and wellbeing of children’ over going to the pub.

In September,  Professor Medley warned that Britain could be struck with 100 coronavirus deaths a day in three to four weeks.

He claimed the triple-figure toll was ‘inevitable’ as the virus remains dangerous to the community.

He arrived at the figure assuming a virus death rate of one per cent and 10,000 new infections being reported every day.

He told BBC Radio 4: ‘Even if (the death rate) is 0.8 per cent, which I think would be a great success in terms of treatment, it still means that we are going to see deaths increase.’ 

Professor Calum Semple 

Professor Calum Semple is a Professor in Child Health and Outbreak Medicine at the University of Liverpool and a Consultant Respiratory Paediatrician at Alder Hey Children's Hospital.=

Professor Calum Semple is a Professor in Child Health and Outbreak Medicine at the University of Liverpool and a Consultant Respiratory Paediatrician at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.=

Professor Calum Semple is a Professor in Child Health and Outbreak Medicine at the University of Liverpool and a Consultant Respiratory Paediatrician at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.

Alongside his doctoral research in clinical virology, he was awarded with an NIHR National Clinician Scientist Award in 2002.

The academic, whose research area lies in bronchiolitis and influenza, is the Senior Clinical Editor of the journal Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses.

In 2016, Professor Semple was awarded with the Queen’s Ebola Medal for Service in West Africa.

In April, Professor Semple urged Britons to get it their heads’ just how lethal coronavirus is.

He said while coronavirus infects many more people than Ebola, they have similar fatality rates when the illnesses lead to hospitalisation.

He said at the time: ‘It’s a common misconception, even today, that Covid is just a bad dose of the flu. 

‘Coronavirus is a very serious disease, the crude hospital case fatality rate is of the same magnitude as Ebola.

‘If you come into hospital with Covid disease and you’re sick enough to be admitted – and you have to be pretty sick these days to be admitted – the crude case fatality rate is sitting somewhere between 35 to 40 per cent.

‘That’s the same case crude case fatality rate for someone admitted to hospital with Ebola. People need to hear this and get it their heads.

Around the same time that children were returning to School in September, Professor Semple reassured parents that their offspring will not be put in danger. 

He said: ‘Severe disease is rare and death is vanishingly rare.

‘They should be confident that their children are not going to be put at direct harm by going back to school and we do know that they are harmed by being kept away from school because of the lack of educational opportunities, and that’s affecting mental health.’

Professor Semple slammed Boris Johnson’s 10pm curfew – which came into play last month – as not enough to curb the spread of the coronavirus. 

He said the measures will ‘have to go further’ to halt Britain’s rapidly growing outbreak.

And he said tougher restrictions are likely to be needed for the hospitality sector.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘In time, it will probably have to go further than a 10pm curfew and table service only.’ 

He also warned that ministers may have to consider ‘restricting inter-mingling between households’.

He said new measures needed could include keeping people away from the office.  

Professor Semple added: ‘I think the Rule of Six has been tried, it’s not had time to kick in yet, but based on the numbers I’m seeing, it doesn’t go far enough.

‘The epidemiologists and scientists that I work with, and I’m not just talking about the ones on SAGE, I’d say there’s hardly a cigarette paper’s thickness between what we feel about this.

‘The time to act is now, we are in a serious situation, and the numbers that are rising are tracking the current worst case scenario.’

This month, he recommended that a short national lockdown should be considered to slow the virus. 

Professor Catherine Noakes  

Professor Catherine Noakes is a chartered mechanical engineer whose research expertise lies in building physics and environmental engineering

Professor Catherine Noakes is a chartered mechanical engineer whose research expertise lies in building physics and environmental engineering

Professor Catherine Noakes is a chartered mechanical engineer whose research expertise lies in building physics and environmental engineering. 

The academic graduated with a first class degree in Mathematical Engineering from the University of Leeds in 1996.

After completing her PHD, the professor joined the university’s School of Civil Engineering in 2002 as a postdoctoral researcher and was appointed as a lecturer in 2007 and then promoted to Chair in 2014.

Professor Noakes, who was promoted to chairwoman in 2014, is a a member of the University Gender Oversight group. 

In May, Professor Noakes told the Science and Technology Select Committee that there was very little evidence of outdoor transmission of the virus.

She added: ‘The chances of you being able to inhale enough in an outdoor environment is very, very small.’

But she said that the two-mete rule was not over-precautionary because there was evidence of virus transmission within that distance.

Prof Noakes added: ‘It may be over-precautionary but actually it’s not, particularly when you are face to face with somebody.

‘There’s certainly evidence that people within two metres are able to be affected.’ 

Then in June, she said coronavirus transmission was still too high in Britain to relax the social distancing two-metre rule.

Professor Noakes, an expert on airborne infection at University of Leeds, told The Times: ‘There are too many cases in the community for us to consider going below two metres.’

‘There is transmission happening already, when we’ve been applying the [two-metre] distancing. If we reduce it, essentially, you double the risk.

‘Where you have a poorly-ventilated room and someone is four metres away – if there’s a high viral shedder in that room, that could cause an infection.’ 

Professor Julia Gog 

A mathematician and Professor of Mathematical Biology at the university of Cambridge, Professor Julia Gog's specialist research is into infectious diseases like influenza

A mathematician and Professor of Mathematical Biology at the university of Cambridge, Professor Julia Gog’s specialist research is into infectious diseases like influenza

A mathematician and Professor of Mathematical Biology at the university of Cambridge, Professor Julia Gog’s specialist research is into infectious diseases like influenza.

Her work from years past may already have helped save lives by influencing the early focus on handwashing.

She was involved in a 2017 involving Cambridge and the BBC which simulated the spread of a virus if people carried on live as normal.

It found that the number of people who caught the virus within 100 days could be slashed from 42million to 21million if people washed their hands an extra five to 10 times a day.  

Dr James Rubin

Dr James Rubin is an academic psychologist and Reader in the Psychology of Emerging Health Risks at King’s College London.

His work tries to understand how people perceive potential health risks and how this can have an impact on their behaviour and wellbeing.

Dr James Rubin is an academic psychologist and Reader in the Psychology of Emerging Health Risks at King's College London

Dr James Rubin is an academic psychologist and Reader in the Psychology of Emerging Health Risks at King’s College London

His research has led to him being invited to work with UK, EU and World Health Organisation bodies and also seen him work as an honorary non-medical consultant with the Emergency Response Department, Public Health England.

Professor Rubin has looked at the reactions displayed by humans to health risks including biological and chemical terrorism and the pandemic influenza.

In April, Dr Rubin said the British public has a right to know how ministers intend to end the coronavirus lockdown.

He told MPs transparency about the route back to normal life was needed in order to maintain public trust in the ‘difficult and costly’ social distancing restrictions.

He suggested a failure to be clear with the nation about the way forward risked backfiring because it is ‘very important that people have their expectations set on this’.

Professor Lucy Yardley 

Professor Lucy Yardley works as a professor of health psychology at both the University of Bristol and the University of Southampton

Professor Lucy Yardley works as a professor of health psychology at both the University of Bristol and the University of Southampton

Professor Lucy Yardley worked as a professor of health psychology at both the University of Bristol and the University of Southampton.

She studied for her undergraduate degree in psychology at the University of Southampton before going on to pursue a master of science in audiological science.

The professor is a National Institute for Health Research Senior Investigator and also a Director of the LifeGuide Research at the University of Southampton.

In 2010, she was awarded the title of Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences. 

In May, Professor Yardley warned that people exposed to a higher dose of coronavirus are more likely to fall critically ill.   

Shes said evidence shows ‘viral load’ plays a big role in how sick someone will become.

This explains why so many healthcare workers – who come into face-to-face contact with gravely ill patients – have fallen victim and died from the disease, she said.

In June, she suggested that Britons tracked down by contact tracers should be put up in quarantine hotels to clamp down on the tens of thousands of people flouting coronavirus self-isolation rules. 

She warned the Government’s Test and Trace programme could fail because of low compliance and suggested putting suspected cases in dedicated hotels where they are far more likely to comply, as has been done in South Korea, India and some parts of South America.

Just last month, Professor Yardley criticized the Government’s ‘top-down rules’ that change ‘all the time.

She told the BBC: ‘I think it is a real problem that people are trying to follow top-down rules that are changing all the time and are different in different places and in different organisations.

‘We need less rule following and more working together to work out, in your individual situation, what is the best way to minimise the risk to the people around you.’ 

Arise, Sir Hercule! Poirot actor David Suchet leads honours roll-call of stars as Mary Berry and Maureen Lipman become dames and England hero Marcus Rashford is given an MBE (while David Attenborough’s ‘racist’ gong gets a makeover) 

By Emma Powell and Jennifer Ruby For The Daily Mail 

His legion of fans will say it’s a mystery why he has had to wait for so long.

Now David Suchet, 74, best known for playing Agatha Christie’s Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, has seen his distinguished five-decade career on the stage and screen recognised with a knighthood.

The actor heads a long line of leading lights from the showbusiness world named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. They include TV cook Mary Berry, who said she was ‘absolutely overwhelmed’ to be made a dame.

David Suchet, 74, best known for playing Agatha Christie’s Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, has seen his distinguished five-decade career on the stage and screen recognised with a knighthood

David Suchet, 74, best known for playing Agatha Christie’s Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, has seen his distinguished five-decade career on the stage and screen recognised with a knighthood

TV cook Mary Berry is being made a dame in the Queen's birthday honours list

TV cook Mary Berry is being made a dame in the Queen’s birthday honours list

Actress Maureen Lipman also receives a damehood for her work in showbizness

Actress Maureen Lipman also receives a damehood for her work in showbizness 

Actress Maureen Lipman also receives a damehood, while there are knighthoods for Britain’s first rock and roll star Tommy Steele and soap opera producer Phil Redmond. TV presenter Lorraine Kelly is awarded a CBE.

Speaking about his award for services to drama and charity, Sir David said: ‘I feel so very honoured, privileged and full of gratitude to the Queen, my country and my profession.’

He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1973 before making his West End debut in 1987 in Separation. He went on to star in stage productions of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Importance of Being Earnest.

His many TV appearances include roles in ITV drama Henry VIII, a 2006 production of Dracula, Doctor Who and the recent BBC adaptation of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials.

But Sir David – whose older brother is former TV news presenter John Suchet – will forever be remembered for playing Poirot from 1989 to 2013. He received a Bafta nomination for the role in 1991.

Rapper Dizzee Rascall, pictured, has been awarded an MBE in the birthday honour's list

Rapper Dizzee Rascall, pictured, has been awarded an MBE in the birthday honour’s list 

Britain's first rock and roll star Tommy Steele, pictured has also received a knighthood

Britain’s first rock and roll star Tommy Steele, pictured has also received a knighthood 

Professor Brian Cox, who once starred in D:Ream and later achieved fame for his work in astro physics has been anointed with a CBE

Professor Brian Cox, who once starred in D:Ream and later achieved fame for his work in astro physics has been anointed with a CBE

Another TV star of long standing to be honoured was former Great British Bake Off judge Dame Mary, 85, for services to broadcasting, the culinary arts and charity. She said of the accolade: ‘I am absolutely overwhelmed to receive this very great honour.

‘I just wish my parents and brothers were here to share my joy, as my only achievement at school was just one O-level – in cookery of course! However, I am sure they are looking down and smiling… I will celebrate with my husband and family very soon!’

Dame Mary, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu culinary school, has seen her impressive career span six decades.

She has been a familiar face on television, fronting shows including Mary Berry Cooks and Mary’s Absolute Favourites as well as publishing nearly 70 books since her debut, Mary Berry’s Cookbook, appeared in 1970.

Dame Maureen’s award makes her the first dame of Coronation Street, where she is currently playing Evelyn Plummer.

The 74-year-old, recognised for her services to charity, entertainment and the arts, said: ‘I am proud to be honoured by the Queen and country that I love, for doing the work that I love.

Lorraine Kelly, pictured, is also being rewarded in the Queen's birthday honours list

Lorraine Kelly, pictured, is also being rewarded in the Queen’s birthday honours list

‘My grandfather was given the freedom to live and work in the historic and welcoming city of Hull after fleeing persecution in Russia.

‘Two generations later that same city gave me, his granddaughter, a full grant to live and study drama, which led to a rich and rewarding career. It is a wonderful reflection on what, one trusts, is the continuing generosity of this country to the immigrant. So, gratefully, Happy Birthday your Majesty and thank you.’

Dame Maureen’s CV, spanning 50 years, includes everything from a much-loved comedy turn in a BT advert to a supporting role in Oscar-winning drama The Pianist.

Sir Tommy, 83, who is often described as Britain’s first teen idol after he rose to fame in the 1950s, said he feels like he’s living in a ‘showbusiness fairy story’ and added that the accolade is a ‘wonderful thing’.

Born Thomas Hicks in Bermondsey, south London, he heard the music of Buddy Holly for the first time when a ship he was serving on docked in Virginia in the US, and fell in love with rock and roll.

He became a household name with The Steelmen, who hit No 1 in 1956 with Singing The Blues.

Lancashire-born Sir Phil, 71, is a television producer, known for creating long-running youth shows Grange Hill and Hollyoaks as well as Liverpool-set soap opera Brookside. He ran independent production company Mersey Television for two decades.

Of the honour he said: ‘I’ve always believed you don’t get anywhere in life without the help of other people and while this great honour came as a great surprise, it is also humbling, as I know many, many people have to support such nominations. So to everyone who helped put this great smile on my face today, many, many thanks.’

Sir David Attenborough, 94, already had a knighthood – but is now also awarded the highly prestigious Knight Grand Cross in the Order of St Michael and St George for his contributions to television broadcasting and conservation.

He said: ‘I am, of course, most honoured that my work should have been recognised in this way.’

ITV presenter Miss Kelly, 60, who is recognised for her services to broadcasting, journalism and charity, said: ‘This is such an unexpected honour.

‘I’m very grateful and humbled. Particularly as I am in far more deserving company – especially all of those frontline workers who are true heroes.’

Physicist and TV presenter Professor Brian Cox, 52, actor Adrian Lester, 52, and singer Joan Armatrading, 69, also receive CBEs.

TV writer Sally Wainwright, behind shows including Happy Valley, Last Tango in Halifax and Gentleman Jack, is awarded an OBE, as is musician Jeff Lynne, 72, of the Electric Light Orchestra.

Rapper Dizzee Rascal, 36, singer Mica Paris, 51, and TV chef Ching-He Huang, 42, are all awarded an MBE. ITV’s medical expert Dr Hilary Jones, 67, said he felt ‘humbled and delighted’ to have been made an MBE. He presents regular health sections on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, and has been dispensing advice about coronavirus.

Joining the list of celebrities who have helped with Covid-19 efforts is rapper Lady Leshurr, 30, who is being awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) after releasing a song this year reminding people to wash their hands.

She said: ‘I can’t believe that the Queen of England has noticed and commended the Queen of Grime.’

Novelist Susan Hill, best known for ghost story The Woman in Black, was awarded a damehood and joked it meant she had ‘caught up’ with friend Dame Judi Dench.

Dame Susan, 78, who also worked as a scriptwriter for The Archers on Radio 4, said: ‘I was very surprised but pleased too, of course.’

Fellow author Bernardine Evaristo, whose novel Girl, Woman, Other won last year’s Booker Prize, was awarded an OBE.

It’s Marcus Rashford MBE! Man Utd striker recognised in honours list for work in feeding underprivileged children… before urging PM to extend free school meals scheme

Marcus Rashford has urged the Prime Minister to do more in the fight against child food poverty after becoming an MBE in the Queen’s birthday honours.

The Manchester United and England star has been recognised for his work in feeding underprivileged children, which included forcing Boris Johnson into a U-turn over providing free school meal vouchers for 1.3million kids during the summer holidays.

However, Rashford fears that an even greater crisis is looming — with the end of the Government’s furlough scheme threatening mass unemployment that could leave families without food — and he wants Mr Johnson to extend the voucher system over the October half-term break. 

Marcus Rashford (middle) has been awarded an MBE for his work feeding underprivileged kids

Marcus Rashford (middle) has been awarded an MBE for his work feeding underprivileged kids

After news broke of his MBE, Rashford shared an image on social media reading a newspaper

After news broke of his MBE, Rashford shared an image on social media reading a newspaper

‘I’m incredibly honoured and humbled,’ Rashford said. 

‘As a young black man from Wythenshawe, never did I think I would be accepting an MBE, never mind an MBE at the age of 22. 

‘This is a very special moment for myself and my family, but particularly my mum who is the real deserving recipient of the honour.

‘The fight to protect our most vulnerable children is far from over. I would be doing the families I have met and spoken with an injustice if I didn’t use this opportunity to respectfully urge the Prime Minister, who recommended me for this honour, to support our children during the October half-term with an extension of the voucher scheme, as the furlough scheme comes to an end and we face increased unemployment.

‘It’s another sticking plaster, but one that will give the parents of millions of children just one less thing to worry about.

‘Let’s stand together in saying that no children in the UK should be going to bed hungry. Not having access to food is never the child’s fault.’

Rashford’s appeal came as it emerged that 900,000 more kids have been registered for free school meals during the pandemic.  

The Manchester United and England striker is continuing to push Government on child poverty

The Manchester United and England striker is continuing to push Government on child poverty

 

Attenborough’s ‘racist’ gong is getting a makeover 

The medal awarded to Sir David Attenborough yesterday has been changed following complaints that its portrayal of a black man in chains being crushed by a white angel was racist.

Sir David is to be appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George, a Commonwealth knighthood honour made personally by the Queen.

Recipients are given an insignia that traditionally featured Archangel Michael trampling on the neck of a prone, dark-skinned man. It is meant to represent St Michael’s triumph over the Devil.

The gong being given to David Attenborough is being altered to show an angel standing on the neck of a devil

The gong being given to David Attenborough is being altered to show an angel standing on the neck of a devil 

The previous version of the medal featured a dark skinned man being trampled upon

The previous version of the medal featured a dark skinned man being trampled upon

The new version of the medal, on which the Devil has paler skin, means Sir David and the Royal Family avoid huge potential embarrassment.

The distinguished campaigner is leading the new £50 million Earthshot environmental prize announced by Prince William this week.

William’s brother Harry last week claimed that ‘structural racism’ still existed in the UK.

Following the killing by police of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, in the US earlier this year, more than 20,000 people signed a petition calling for the Order of St Michael and St George gong to be redesigned.

Critics said changing the colour of the Devil did not go far enough because it still resembled the killing of Mr Floyd. In addition to the medal, as a Knight Grand Cross knight – the highest of the Order’s three ranks – Sir David is entitled to wear a separate gold ‘star’ insignia on a cloak worn on ceremonial occasions. This version shows Satan with strikingly black skin.

Sir Michael Palin, who received a similar award two years ago, said the black Satan image was ‘inappropriate and insensitive’. Sir Patrick Allen, governor-general of Jamaica, said he would no longer wear the medal.

The Cabinet Office yesterday said Sir David will be given a new-style medal featuring a white Satan. A spokesman said all versions of the insignia had been changed, including the gold ‘star’.

The Archangel has also been redesigned, displaying a slimmer waist and longer blonde hair, but the Cabinet Office said this did not indicate his gender had been changed to female.

The honour, founded in 1818 by the future King George IV, is awarded mainly for distinguished service to the Commonwealth.

It came as a host of Royal Household staff were awarded honours, including Prince Charles’s long-serving chauffeur, Princess Anne’s ladies-in-waiting and a royal saddler and harness maker.

More than 50 staff have been singled out for merit in the Royal Victorian Order, originally set up by Queen Victoria and given for distinguished personal service to the monarchy.

Knighthoods have been given to the Queen’s Master of the Household, Vice Admiral Anthony Johnstone-Burt, who is in charge of the running of Buckingham Palace, and Jonathan Weatherby, Her Majesty’s representative at Ascot. Leonora, Countess of Lichfield, Araminta Ritchie, and Jane Holderness-Roddam, all ladies in waiting to Anne, have been made Commanders of the Order. 

Bella! Ruth Rogers of River Cafe is made a CBE

River Cafe owner Ruth Rogers has been made a CBE for services to the culinary arts and charity.

The 72-year-old US-born chef co-founded the Michelin-starred Italian restaurant in Hammersmith, west London, in 1987.

Jamie Oliver started his career at the fashionable establishment whose regulars include Gwyneth Paltrow, Nigella Lawson and Jemima Goldsmith.

River Cafe owner Ruth Rogers has been made a CBE for services to the culinary arts and charity

River Cafe owner Ruth Rogers has been made a CBE for services to the culinary arts and charity

Fashion designer Misha Nonoo, who is believed to have set up Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, is also a fan. Lady Rogers, pictured with her architect husband Lord Rogers, prepared dinner at Miss Nonoo’s lavish wedding to oil tycoon Michael Hess, which was attended by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

She has been involved in several charities including StreetSmart, which aims to tackle homelessness, and domestic violence charity Refuge.

The chef, who was awarded an MBE for services to the hospitality industry in 2009, told the Evening Standard in June there had been no ‘silver linings’ to lockdown.

Multimillionaire Tory donor who hosted David Cameron’s 50th birthday is knighted

A multimillionaire Tory donor who hosted David Cameron’s 50th birthday party has been knighted.

Tony Gallagher, a property developer who has given more than £300,000 to the party since 2007, is honoured for ‘services to land development and the property business’.

The businessman is part of the Chipping Norton set centred on the Cotswolds town in the former prime minister’s old Oxfordshire constituency.

In 2016, he hosted a 50th birthday party for Mr Cameron at Sarsden House, his country mansion near Chipping Norton. The two men reportedly got to know each other when Mr Cameron became the local MP.

Billionaire brothers who have just bought the Asda supermarket chain in a £6.8billion deal are both made CBEs. Mohsin Issa, 49, and his brother Zuber, 48, who grew up in a terrace house in Blackburn, built their fortune by creating a global petrol forecourt operator, Euro Garages.

Salute to the Covid heroes: More than 400 medics and unsung volunteers including supermarket delivery drivers win recognition in the Queen’s birthday honours

By Vanessa Allen and Claire Ellicot For The Daily Mail  

Doctors, nurses and unsung heroes were honoured yesterday for their part in the fight against Covid.

Frontline workers and volunteers won recognition alongside the famous and powerful in a salute to those who tackled the pandemic.

The Queen’s birthday honours were postponed from June so the debt of gratitude could be acknowledged. It means NHS carers, scientists, supermarket delivery drivers and charity helpers take pride of place.

Boris Johnson said the awards showed Britain was ‘caring, compassionate and resolute’.

Honours were also granted to scientists who advised the Government on responding to coronavirus despite the ongoing controversy over lockdown decisions and their economic impact.

More than 400 carers and volunteers were on a list that included:

  • Knighthoods for actor David Suchet and singer Tommy Steele, soap creator Phil Redmond and athletics ace Brendan Foster;
  • Damehoods for TV stars Mary Berry and Maureen Lipman, and novelist Susan Hill;
  • Covid honours for footballer and school meals campaigner Marcus Rashford, and lockdown fitness stars Joe Wicks and Mr Motivator; 
  • A special award for David Attenborough, who becomes a Knight Grand Cross; 
  • An Order of the Companions of Honour for fashion designer Sir Paul Smith; 
  • CBEs for billionaire brothers Zuber and Mohsin Issa, a week after they bought supermarket chain Asda for £6.8billion; 
  • A knighthood for Tory donor Tony Gallagher, who is a friend of David Cameron. 

The decision to reflect the coronavirus fight in the birthday honours led to an unprecedented 4,000 public nominations.

Officials said they had been humbled by examples of courage, selflessness and determination shown by key workers and volunteers, including many who risked their lives.

Dying Covid hospital patients were helped to say their final goodbyes to their families thanks to Alison Williams

Dying Covid hospital patients were helped to say their final goodbyes to their families thanks to Alison Williams

The Prime Minister said: ‘This year’s honours recipients are a testament to the sort of country we are – caring, compassionate and resolute in the face of a global pandemic.

‘The hard work and dedication of these local, often unsung, heroes has helped carry us through. I congratulate them all.’

Charity fundraisers, hospital porters and supermarket delivery drivers and home school entrepreneurs were among those handed honours.

They included Dabirul Islam Choudhury, who raised more than £400,000 by walking 970 laps of his garden while fasting for Ramadan. His family said the 100-year-old wept with joy when he learned he was to be awarded an OBE.

NHS nurse Felicia Kwaku was given an OBE for her work at King’s College Hospital in south London. She said: ‘It’s not just about me, it’s about my fallen colleagues.’

There were also OBEs for the men who developed the NHS volunteering app, Professor Mark Wilson and Ali Ghorbangholi. More than 750,000 people signed up in the first 48 hours of its launch in April.

Mr Ghorbangholi, 29 and from Ealing in west London, said: ‘The response to the app was really heart-warming, it reached a lot of people which shows the levels people are willing to go to help others, it’s a real testament to the people of England.’

In total, 1,495 honours were granted, including 414 for services during the pandemic. Fourteen per cent went to healthcare and social care workers.

This year’s list is also the most diverse in the history of the honours, with black and minority ethnic groups accounting for 13 per cent of all recipients. This followed calls for greater recognition, prompted by the Black Lives Matter protests.   

Geoff Norris used his own car on his days off to ensure the elderly and vulnerable got their shopping during lockdown

Geoff Norris used his own car on his days off to ensure the elderly and vulnerable got their shopping during lockdown

Helping families say goodbye with dignity

Dying Covid hospital patients were helped to say their final goodbyes to their families thanks to Alison Williams. The 41-year-old raised money to buy iPads to allow isolated patients in intensive care to speak to relatives who were not allowed to visit. The mother-of-two, who has been awarded the British Empire Medal, said: ‘I got a personal message from somebody who saw her dad for the last time through one of the iPads, and that obviously touched me.

‘That will stay with me for ever.’ Mrs Williams, a nurse at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, also launched a charity called Rainbow Boxes at the height of the pandemic to give supplies of pyjamas and toiletries to emergency patients and it has raised more than £50,000.

Asda driver who delivered on day off

Geoff Norris used his own car on his days off to ensure the elderly and vulnerable got their shopping during lockdown. When the ASDA driver learned one pensioner would be spending her 90th birthday alone, he organised a surprise party – and he and around 20 colleagues brought her cake and flowers, read birthday messages from her family in New Zealand.

Mr Norris, 53, said: ‘It made her day, but I think we were even more made up for her.’ Mr Norris, from Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, said he, wife Vanessa and their daughter Anna, 22, took shopping orders from pensioners who could not book deliveries online. He and his supermarket colleagues then delivered the groceries on their days off. Mr Norris said: ‘There were a lot of people that were in need and they were scared, and we just thought, “let’s just do something”. We just did all we could.’

Dabirul Islam Choudhury, 100, walked 970 laps of his garden while fasting for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, after taking inspiration from charity fundraiser Sir Tom Moore

Dabirul Islam Choudhury, 100, walked 970 laps of his garden while fasting for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, after taking inspiration from charity fundraiser Sir Tom Moore

Jay Flynn's his first online pub quiz attracted interest from almost 250,000 people, and he has now raised more than £750,000 for charity

Jay Flynn’s his first online pub quiz attracted interest from almost 250,000 people, and he has now raised more than £750,000 for charity

Penelope Bond set up a nationwide network of volunteers writing letters to elderly care home residents called 'Letter to a Friend'

Penelope Bond set up a nationwide network of volunteers writing letters to elderly care home residents called ‘Letter to a Friend’

The 100-year-old garden fundraiser

Dabirul Islam Choudhury wept with joy when he learned he was to receive an OBE, his family said yesterday. The 100-year-old walked 970 laps of his garden while fasting for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, after taking inspiration from charity fundraiser Sir Tom Moore. The grandfather-of-three from Bow, East London, had initially aimed to complete 100 laps but kept going and has now raised more than £400,000 for charity.

MBEs for footballer and two fitness gurus 

By Claire Ellicott, Political Correspondent for the Daily Mail 

England footballer Marcus Rashford has been given an MBE after he triggered a government U-turn on free school meals.

The Manchester United player was honoured for his services to vulnerable children in the UK during the pandemic.

Marcus Rashford, 22, lobbied the Government into continuing its free school meals policy during lockdown over the summer

Marcus Rashford, 22, lobbied the Government into continuing its free school meals policy during lockdown over the summer

Mr Rashford, 22, lobbied the Government into continuing its free school meals policy during lockdown over the summer.

He has since formed a child food poverty task force, linking up with some of the country’s biggest supermarkets and food brands.

Fitness coach Joe Wicks, 35, was also made an MBE for helping children keep active and mentally fit with online PE lessons during lockdown, and for his charity efforts.

Fitness coach Joe Wicks, 35, was also made an MBE for helping children keep active and mentally fit with online PE lessons during lockdown, and for his charity efforts

Fitness coach Joe Wicks, 35, was also made an MBE for helping children keep active and mentally fit with online PE lessons during lockdown, and for his charity efforts

His YouTube workouts raised £580,000 for the NHS.

He said yesterday: ‘I can’t quite believe it… To receive this is just incredible. I’m so proud that I’ve done something which helps so many people.’

He thanked those who joined the workouts and made them a ‘special moment in my life’.

Wicks claimed a Guinness World Record for live streaming after one of his online classes attracted almost a million viewers.

Fitness instructor Mr Motivator – real name Derrick Evans, 67 – was also made an MBE and said yesterday he felt ‘blessed’.

He said of his OBE: ‘I feel proud they have honoured me.’

The matron who delayed retirement

Susan Williams put off her own retirement so she could keep caring for Chelsea Pensioners.

The 60-year-old worked through the pandemic at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, where elderly Army veterans were shielded from Covid-19. Mrs Williams, a nurse since she was 19, said her work throughout the pandemic was inspired by her mother, who was also a nurse but died last year. She is now planning her delayed retirement to the Cotswolds with husband Graham.

The mother-of-four, was awarded an OBE, said: ‘I think when you’re in the middle of a crisis you don’t have time to think about how difficult it is. You just have to get on with it and that’s what we did.’

Record-breaking quizmaster

When Jay Flynn set up an online pub quiz during lockdown, he expected a handful of entrants. But his first quiz attracted interest from almost 250,000 people, and he has now raised more than £750,000 for charity. One special edition of his weekly quiz, hosted by Stephen Fry, raised £140,000 for Alzheimer’s Research UK and the event holds the Guinness World Record for most viewers of a live stream quiz, with more than 182,000 people playing. Mr Flynn, 38, from Darwen in Lancashire, said: ‘I’m proud to know we played our part.’ He has donated thousands to a London homelessness charity that helped him when he was on the streets for two years. He is now married with a three-year-old son and was awarded an MBE.

Letters to the lonely in lockdown

Penelope Bond set up a nationwide network of volunteers writing letters to elderly care home residents. An employee of London North East Railway (LNER), she set up ‘Letter to a Friend’.

She first got involved with her local care home in Grantham, Lincolnshire, asking residents if they would like to receive personalised, handwritten letters. But it wasn’t long before letters, postcards, puzzles and poems were being sent to more than 150 care homes around the country, with over 35,000 messages sent to residents.

‘Care home residents are currently very much isolated, with no access to visitors so sending letters, poems and pictures is a way of trying to put a smile on their faces,’ said Penny, who was awarded a BEM.

Carer’s 24/7 support for the elderly

Lynne Grieves moved out of her own home and into a care home for 12 weeks to look after elderly residents at the height of the pandemic. The 57-year-old nurse gave round-the-clock support at the Northlea Court Care Home in Northumberland – helping it remain free of infection.

The work of dedicated staff meant the care home did not use agency workers, and Miss Grieves said she believed that was key to keeping the home virus-free. She said: ‘The residents are like an extended family and you just care for them like you hope somebody would care for your relative.’ BEM recipient Miss Grieves normally lives with her 82-year-old mother Ann, but kept in contact with her via daily video calls so the octogenarian was also protected.

She said: ‘It was a difficult decision to leave mum but she was high-risk and I didn’t want to take any chances. My niece looked after her while I was away and so I knew she was in good hands.’

Lynne Grieves moved out of her own home and into a care home for 12 weeks to look after elderly residents at the height of the pandemic

Lynne Grieves moved out of her own home and into a care home for 12 weeks to look after elderly residents at the height of the pandemic

Ashleigh Linsdell (centre) spearheaded a national campaign to make scrubs for frontline workers when supplies ran dangerously low

Ashleigh Linsdell (centre) spearheaded a national campaign to make scrubs for frontline workers when supplies ran dangerously low

Determined to protect his family from coronavirus, Jatinder Singh Harchowal lived apart from them for eight weeks while he worked at Britain’s first Nightingale Hospital

Determined to protect his family from coronavirus, Jatinder Singh Harchowal lived apart from them for eight weeks while he worked at Britain’s first Nightingale Hospital

As shelves were cleared by panic buying and the vulnerable were left struggling to ensure they could eat at the start of the pandemic, Laura Winningham leapt into action

As shelves were cleared by panic buying and the vulnerable were left struggling to ensure they could eat at the start of the pandemic, Laura Winningham leapt into action

Nurse made scrubs for NHS workers

Ashleigh Linsdell spearheaded a national campaign to make scrubs for frontline workers when supplies ran dangerously low. The A&E nurse used her own money to buy fabric and appealed for help on social media. More than 70,000 volunteers helped make 1.2 million items of PPE and one million face coverings. Mrs Linsdell, 30, from Cambridge, said volunteers had got in touch from around the world after she set up a Facebook page called For the Love of Scrubs. She said of her OBE: ‘This doesn’t happen to normal people, and I’m just a nurse.’

Nightingale hospital pharmacist

Determined to protect his family from coronavirus, Jatinder Singh Harchowal lived apart from them for eight weeks while he worked at Britain’s first Nightingale Hospital.

The father-of-two said it was hard being apart from his wife Nita and their teenage sons.

But he said the long shifts at the London hospital, where he worked as chief pharmacist, were worthwhile – despite catching coronavirus himself.

The 51-year-old, who was awarded the MBE, set up the pharmacy service and his team in just nine days as the capital’s hospitals struggled to cope with the first wave of the virus. He said: ‘At the peak of the crisis, you really don’t think about what’s going to happen afterwards. Awards and honours were really the last thing on my mind.’

Feeding the needy during pandemic

As shelves were cleared by panic buying and the vulnerable were left struggling to ensure they could eat at the start of the pandemic, Laura Winningham leapt into action. Her initiative resulted in almost four million meals being delivered to the most needy around London, as well as frontline workers. The chief executive of City Harvest London, awarded an OBE, made sure the charity distributed £17million worth of surplus food during lockdown.

The charity, which usually delivers food to homeless shelters, soup kitchens and other organisations looking after the vulnerable, quickly scaled up its emergency response for the pandemic.

Using rapidly-raised funds, Mrs Winningham, 58, hired dozens more drivers, increased the size of her charity’s warehouse and partnered with major retailers including Morrisons. Using food that would otherwise be wasted, the charity has been feeding 20,000 people per day.