POST Office campaigner Alan Bates has been recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours list. Sir Alan was knighted in recognition of his campaigning work which highlighted the . Former prime minister Gordon Brown was made a Companion of Honour, Emin, actress Imelda Staunton and fashion accessories designer Anya Hindmarch were all made dames in the list, while writer Armando Iannucci was made a CBE and cyclist Mark Cavendish was knighted.
Singer Rebecca Ferguson, Duran Duran frontman Simon Le Bon and Countdown’s Susie Dent were among the showbiz names to be made MBEs. In the sporting world, former cyclist Chris Boardman and former Liverpool midfielder Graeme Souness were made CBEs, while former England footballer Karen Carney was made an OBE. More than 1,000 people from across the UK received honours in Friday’s list.
Former subpostmaster and lead campaigner Alan Bates, accompanied by his wife Suzanne Sercombe, arrives at Aldwych House, central London, to give evidence to Post Office Horizon IT inquiry. Photo credit: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire. Sir Alan, the North Wales man who founded of Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance and played by Toby Jones in an , said he was “honoured” by his knighthood.
The former , who previously rejected an OBE honour, told the PA news agency: “The time I was asked about the OBE...
I felt it would have been quite offensive to many of the group if I’d accepted it. “But I do know that I’ve had hundreds of emails and letters of support o.
