Boris Johnson critic Jeremy Wright knighted in birthday honours
The Conservative former attorney general Jeremy Wright, who this week called on Boris Johnson to resign, becomes a knight in the birthday honours list, while Euan Blair, the multimillionaire son of the former prime minister Tony Blair, is awarded an MBE.
Also on the list, released before the Queen’s platinum jubilee, is Arlene Foster, the former first minister in Northern Ireland, who becomes a dame. The football commentator Rio Ferdinand and the actor Damian Lewis are among sports and arts figures to be recognised.
Two of the most senior figures in the NHS, who became familiar faces on TV briefings during the pandemic, are given high honours. Prof Stephen Powis, the NHS England national medical director since 2018, is knighted, while the chief nursing officer in England, Ruth May, is made a dame. The chief executive of the pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca, Pascal Soriot, said he was “truly humbled” to be given a knighthood.
A record proportion of honours go to women – 51.5%, slightly higher than the previous record of 51.2% in 2015. The proportion of people from minority ethnic backgrounds is 13.3%, down from 15% last year.
The oldest recipient is Angela Redgrave, 104, a dance teacher for 70 years and the founder of the Bristol School for Dancing, who receives a British Empire Medal (BEM). Elena and Ruben Evans-Guillen, 11-year-old twins from Warrington, Cheshire, are the youngest ever recipients and receive BEMs after raising £50,000 for the NHS over the past three years.
Wright, the MP for Kenilworth and Southam, is honoured for political service which, according to the citation, “helped the government steer through many thorny issues”, including Brexit. The announcement comes after he published a lengthy statement on
Read more on theguardian.com
