New Year Honours: Post Office scandal victims recognised as Gareth Southgate and Sadiq Khan knighted
Stephen Fry, Gareth Southgate and Sadiq Khan are among those recognised in the New Year Honours list, as ITV News' Charlotte Cross reports
Victims of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal who campaigned on behalf of wrongfully convicted subpostmasters are among those recognised in the King's New Year Honours list.
Lee Castleton, Jo Hamilton, Christopher Head and Seema Misra, four of the hundreds of subpostmasters prosecuted by the Post Office over more than a decade, have been awarded OBEs for services to justice.
More than 1,200 people from across the UK received honours in the latest list, including extraordinary members of the public, politicians and stars of sport and showbusiness.
Former England manager Gareth Southgate, London mayor Sadiq Khan and actor Stephen Fry were awarded knighthoods, while creator of The Tracy Beaker series, Jacqueline Wilson, has been made a Dame Grand Cross (GBE) for services to literature.
A host of Team GB and Team ParalympicsGB athletes were also recognised, including runner Keely Hodgkinson, who was named the 2024 BBC Sports Personality of the Year, and mountain biker Tom Pidcock, after the Paris Olympics.
The top gong goes to Nobel Prize-winning novelist Sir Kazuo Ishiguro, who was made a Companion of Honour for services to literature.
Post Office victims recogised alongside showbiz stars and politcians
Actress Carey Mulligan and television presenter Alan Titchmarsh become Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). Actor Eddie Marsan has been made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and Myleene Klass becomes a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).
Sir Stephen, 67, known for BBC comedy Blackadder and hosting quiz show QI, was recognised for services to mental health awareness, the environment and to charity.
Since 2011, he has been president of mental health charity Mind and supported the conservation group Fauna and Flora International, of which the Prince of Wales is patron.
Sir Gareth, 54, is knighted for services to association football, after leading the Three Lions to the finals of Euro 2020 and 2024, and the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup.
He resigned after England’s 2-1 final defeat to Spain in July, having fallen just short of glory in every tournament during his eight-year stint.
Sir Sadiq, 54, was honoured for political and public service, having been the capital’s mayor since 2016. He said he was "truly humbled".
Recognition for justice
The Horizon Post Office Scandal received UK-wide recognition, and outrage, following the ITV drama 'Mr Bates VS The Post Office'.
The drama depicted the real life story of title character Alan Bates, and others, as they tried to uncover the truth behind accounting discrepancies during their time as sub-postmasters.
More than 550 claimants who brought legal action against the Post Office, over the Horizon IT system between 2017 and 2019. More than 700 sub-postmasters were prosecuted by the Post Office and handed criminal convictions between 1999 and 2015, as Fujitsu’s faulty system made it appear as though money was missing at their branches.
A public inquiry found that the faulty Horizon software caused these false accusations and £500 million has been paid to 3,300 victims through various compensation schemes so far.
More glory for Team GB and Team ParalympicsGB
A number of athletes have been recognised after Team GB won 65 medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, while Team ParalympicsGB won 124 medals, including 49 gold medals, finishing in second place in the final medals table.
An MBE for Hodgkinson, 22, caps a year in which she claimed gold in the 800 metres at the Paris Olympics, successfully defended her European title, and set a new British record of one minute 54.61 seconds that made her the sixth fastest woman in history.
Two-time Olympic champion Tom Pidcock, 25, is made an OBE, having won gold in mountain biking, while Paralympian Hannah Cockroft becomes a CBE after coming first in the T34 100m and 800m in the French capital.
Other honoured gold-medallists include swimmer Duncan Scott (OBE), sailor Ellie Aldridge (MBE) and rowers Lola Anderson, Hannah Scott, Lauren Henry and Georgie Brayshaw (all MBE).
Former F1 driver and broadcaster Martin Brundle is made an OBE and former Scotland and Liverpool footballer Alan Hansen has been made an MBE.
World War Two Mosquito pilot honoured
The oldest person on the list is 103-year-old World War Two Mosquito pilot Colin Bell, awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for charitable fundraising and public speaking.
Former RAF navigator George Kelly, 101, is made an MBE for his services to the Royal British Legion (RBL) and RAF veterans, while 100-year-old Roy Gibson receives a BEM having been the first director general of the European Space Agency.
The youngest recipients, both 18, are Mikayla Beames, awarded a BEM for her fundraising efforts supporting children with cancer, and para-swimmer William Ellard, made an MBE after winning gold in the S14 200m freestyle at the Paris Paralympics.
Political figures were recognised for their public service, including Labour MP Emily Thornberry, who becomes a dame, and former West Midlands mayor Andy Street, who becomes a knight.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “Each and every day, ordinary people go out and do extraordinary things for their communities.
“They represent the very best of the UK and that core value of service which I put at the centre of everything this government does.
“The New Year Honours List celebrates more of these unsung heroes, and I thank them for their incredible contribution.”
Women make up 49% of those honoured, with 12% of recipients from ethnic minority backgrounds.
The list also includes 3% identifying as LGBTQ+, 15% with disabilities or long-term health conditions and 33% from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
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