Transparency data

New Year Honours 2021: High Awards

Published 30 December 2020

1. NEW YEAR HONOURS 2021 – HIGH AWARDS

1.1 COMPANION OF HONOUR

SIR DAVID ALAN CHIPPERFIELD CBE

David Chipperfield​is a British architect working internationally with offices in London, Berlin, Milan and Shanghai. He graduated in 1977 from the Architectural Association in London and established his practice in 1985. From 1998–2013 seven buildings designed by his practice were nominated for the RIBA Stirling Prize, with the Museum of Modern Literature awarded the prize in 2007. In 2009 he received the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his contribution to architecture in Germany, including the Neues Museum in Berlin. He received both the RIBA Gold Medal and the EU Mies van der Rohe Award in 2011.

1.2 DAME COMMANDER OF THE ORDER OF THE BATH (DCB)

LYNNE GILLIAN OWENS CBE QPM

Since becoming Director General of the National Crime Agency in 2016, ​Lynne Owens​has refocused its efforts on adapting to the growing threat from serious and organised crime (SOC), providing better protection for the public and cutting crime. There have been more than 5,000 arrests against the most harmful SOC targets and a combined total of more than 11,000 years in prison for those convicted of the most serious offences. She has been the UK’s representative on the global Five Eyes Law Enforcement Group Committee and Interpol. She has also been a passionate advocate for increased diversity within the Agency and across the wider National Security community.

1.3 KNIGHT COMMANDER OF THE ORDER OF THE BATH (KCB)

PROFESSOR PAUL ANTHONY COSFORD CB

Paul Cosford was appointed CB in the New Year 2016 list in recognition of his outstanding leadership of the PHE contribution to the international response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014-15. Taking on the role of Emeritus Medical Director in 2019, he has led PHE’s global health work, a key part of the UK Government’s contribution to improving global health security. This work is vital as it helps save and improve lives, not only globally, but in the UK as well.

1.4 DAME COMMANDER OF THE ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE (DBE)

PROFESSOR KARIN BARBER CBE FBA

An anthropologist, ​Karin Barber​has pioneered the study of African popular culture and developed new approaches to the study of oral and written texts in African languages. Professor of African Cultural Anthropology at University of Birmingham from 1999-2017 and thereafter Emeritus Professor, in 2018 she became Centennial Professor of Anthropology at London School of Economics. Since her CBE in 2012 she has continued to open up new lines of enquiry into everyday African culture. In 2018 she received the Distinguished Africanist Award of the African Studies Association and in 2019 the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award of the Royal Anthropological Institute.

JOANNA GABRIELLE da SILVA OBE

In 2007 ​Jo da Silva​founded a not for profit subsidiary of Arup, Arup International Development, to enable Arup’s world-renowned technical excellence and creativity to be applied directly to improving human development outcomes. No other individual UK engineer is so personally associated with shifting the approach of a major engineering company to prioritise social outcomes for vulnerable communities in developing countries. She is an extremely effective proponent of the ‘build back better’ philosophy for humanitarian relief, as well as being one of the most successful women structural engineers globally.

ANGELA EAGLE MP

Angela Eagle was elected MP for Wallasey at the 1992 General Election. Following the 1997 General Election she held various roles in the Labour Government. In June 2007 she became Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, before being promoted to Minister of State at the Department of Work and Pensions in 2009. She is a current member of the Treasury Select Committee and also served as a member from 2003-07. She has been a vocal champion for LGBT+ rights (in 1997 she became the first sitting female MP to ‘come out’) and has also been Vice Chair of Parliamentary Labour Party, Chair of Labour’s National Executive Committee and the National Policy Forum.

PROFESSOR JANE ALISON GLOVER CBE

Jane Glover​has been the Music of the Baroque music director since 2002. She made her professional debut at the Wexford Festival in 1975 with the first modern performance of Cavalli’s Eritrea and joined Glyndebourne in 1979. She was music director of Glyndebourne Touring Opera from 1981-85. During the 1980s she regularly broadcast on BBC Television. She was Music Director of the London Mozart Players from 1984-91. She was appointed CBE in the 2003 New Year Honours. In 2005 her book ​Mozart’s Women: His Family, His Friends, His Music was published, followed in 2018 by ​Handel in London: The Making of a Genius.​ She was Director of Opera at the Royal Academy of Music from 2009-2016 and still conducts opera companies and orchestras all over the world.

RACHEL GRIFFITH CBE FBA

Rachel Griffith has used her preeminent position to support the development of UK Government economic policy in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. She was the Royal Economics Society’s first female President in over 35 years and only the second woman to hold the post in its 129-year history. She has broken down institutional barriers and has brought together public, private and academic economists in the pursuit of a single national goal. She established the Economics Observatory whose purpose is to answer questions from policy-makers and the public about the economics of the Covid-19 crisis and the recovery.

SHEILA HANCOCK CBE

Since her first job, seventy years ago, in the repertory company at Theatre Royal Oldham, ​Sheila Hancock​has worked extensively in film, television, radio, straight and musical theatre, culminating, in her ninth decade, in climbing a mountain for the film Edie, and rowing with the Women’s Olympic Team in Channel 4’s Great Canal Journeys. Since campaigning against the hanging of Ruth Ellis in 1955, she has been a lifelong activist. She is dedicated to improving education for people from all backgrounds and was proud to be Chancellor of Portsmouth University. She is now passionately committed to increasing opportunities for disadvantaged children, in her hands-on involvement with The John Thaw Foundation and the education charity, Digismart.

IRENE LUCAS-HAYS CBE

Irene Lucas-Hays has focused consistently on creating an environment in which employment opportunities are supported by the acquisition of skills, whether it be in promoting apprenticeships within local authorities and the travel industry, or through her work on encouraging advanced manufacturing investment into the North East. Irene and her husband have supported apprenticeships for 40 years and in 2015 set up the Hays Travel Foundation to support organisations working to help young people achieve their full potential. The Foundation has a specific focus on improving the skills and life chances of young people.

CAROLINE MASON CBE

Caroline Mason​strives to improve the quality of life for people and communities throughout the UK. She does this by funding the charitable work of organisations that are building an inclusive, creative and sustainable society. Through her work with the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, she is running one of the largest independent grant-makers and social investors in the UK. She has been a trailblazer in the response to the Covid-19 crisis, making an additional £16m of funding available from the Foundation this year to help organisations across a wide range of sectors. She has distributed the majority as fast-response grants to some of the organisations the Foundation works with.​

PATRICIA ANN MCGRATH MBE

Pat McGrath​is indisputably the leading make-up artist of modern times. Through her own brand, she has championed cultural diversity in the global beauty industry, while also successfully creatively directing other major international cosmetics lines. By 2019 her company Pat McGrath Labs was breaking global sales records, achieving unicorn status and became the biggest selling beauty line in Selfridges history. McGrath has also regularly appeared in the Top 10 of the Powerlist, highlighting the most influential Black British people across a number of industries. In 2019 she was included in Time’s most influential people list.

PROFESSOR CAROL PROPPER CBE FBA

Carol Propper​is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research and at the Institute for Fiscal Studies; was elected as a fellow of the British Academy in 2014; was elected as an International Fellow of the National Academy of Medicine in 2018,;and from 2005-09 was both a Council Member for UK Research and Innovation’s Economic and Social Research Council and Chair of their Research Grants Board. As President of the Royal Economics Society she has demonstrated exceptional leadership, which has directly supported the economic and public health policy responses of the UK against Covid-19.

ALWEN WILLIAMS CBE

Alwen Williams​has demonstrated outstanding leadership in the NHS over a 40 year career, working tirelessly to improve healthcare for East London. Operating from four main hospital sites, Barts Health is one of the largest acute hospital groups in the country, serving a diverse and economically challenged population of 2.5 million. When she took over Barts Health in 2015 the Trust was in special measures following regulatory criticism. She has since transformed it into a well-led, sustainable organisation forecasting financial break-even in 2020-21 and with the majority of services now rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’.

1.5 KNIGHTS BACHELOR

RICHARD JAMES ATKINS CBE

Richard Atkins​spent 21 years as a College Principal, including seven at Yeovil College and 14 at Exeter College. Under his leadership, Exeter College was rated Outstanding in 2014, and won a number of national awards, including TES College of the Year in 2012, and oversaw the creation of one of the first Maths Free Schools. He held high-profile national positions, including Association of Colleges President. He was the Further Education Commissioner from 2016-21. He has been a pro-chancellor of Exeter University since 2017 and served on the board of Ofsted in 2016.

PROFESSOR SIMON BARON-COHEN

Simon Baron-Cohen is one of the top autism researchers in the world, conducting remarkable, innovative scientific research. He is Director of the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge University, and a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, the British Academy, the Academy of Medical Sciences, and the British Psychological Society. He served as Chair of the NICE Guidelines for autism and is Director of the charity the Autism Centre of Excellence and Vice President of the National Autistic Society. He was President of the International Society for Autism Research. He created the first clinic worldwide to diagnose autism in adults and championed the human rights of autistic people at the UN. He is author of ​The Essential Difference, Zero Degrees of Empathy​, and ​The Pattern Seekers,​ which have captured the public imagination.

ROBERT WILLIAM CHOTE

Robert Chote has been instrumental in enhancing the public understanding of economics and the public finances across his 30-year career. This has culminated in a ten-year stewardship of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), in which his leadership has cemented the organisation as an integral and trusted part of the UK’s institutional architecture, as well as a reliable and independent source of information on the economy and public finances for Parliament, the press and the general public. He is also a visiting professor at King’s College London, chair of the Royal Statistical Society’s advisory group on public data literacy, a member of the Policy Committee of the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics and the Council of Westcott House Theological College in Cambridge. He is a governor of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR).

THE RT HON THOMAS CLARKE CBE JP

Thomas Clarke​has dedicated his life to fighting for the people he grew up with in North Lanarkshire. In 1964 he was elected to Coatbridge Town Council. In 1980 he was awarded a CBE for services to Local Government. In 1982 he was elected MP for Coatbridge and Airdrie in a by-election. He would continue to diligently serve as their MP for the next 33 years. He would also become a senior Minister. Throughout his parliamentary career he was a champion for disabled people and a passionate advocate for disabled rights. Local people still go to him for help and advice. He is still the loyal friend and servant of the local community that he has been throughout his life.

THE RT HON CHARLES GEOFFREY COX QC MP

Geoffrey Cox​has been the Member of Parliament for Torridge and West Devon since 2005 and is a dedicated local constituency MP. Throughout his time in Parliament he has been keen to promote the environment, farming and fishing (issues which are of great importance to his constituency). He is perhaps best known to the public for his period as Attorney General from 2018-20. Outside of politics he has enjoyed a distinguished legal career. He was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple in 1982, co-founded Thomas More chambers in 1992 and has been Head of Chambers since 2003. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2003.

STEPHEN JOHN DEUCHAR CBE

Stephen Deuchar​joined the Tate Gallery in 1998, becoming Director of Tate Britain from 2000-2010, responsible for a programme of innovative exhibitions which set British art in an international context. He was Director of Art Fund from 2010-2020, where he led the introduction of the National Art Pass and the expansion of membership and fundraising, helping to deliver unprecedented grants to support museums, curation and exhibitions across the UK.

PROFESSOR DIETER ROBIN HELM CBE

Dieter Helm has championed relentlessly the need to turn the 25 Year Environment Plan into a set of statutory, measurable outcomes, with the plan now being given statutory footing with legally binding targets in the Environment Bill. Under his leadership the NCC has successfully embedded environmental protection across government and private decision making. Living near a Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust reserve has given him a special interest in helping develop the Trust’s plans for local people and nature. He became Honorary Vice President in 2012.

CHRISTOPHER MARK LE BRUN

Christopher Le Brun​is an internationally renowned painter, sculptor and print-maker. In addition to his career as a practicing artist, he is committed to public service and has taken on the role of trustee at numerous museums and galleries including Tate, The National Gallery and the Royal Drawing School. He has served as President of the Royal Academy of Arts since 2011. He has exhibited in group and solo shows across the world since the 1980s. He has numerous awards to his name and is Honorary member of the Royal Watercolour Society, Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour and the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists. He is also a Fellow of the University of the Arts.

DAVID JOHN LEWIS

Following a successful turnaround of the UK’s largest private sector employer, ​Dave Lewis made sure that the UK’s biggest supermarket played its part in supporting the people of the UK. He was particularly keen for Tesco to make the difference in getting food to the vulnerable, prioritising availability ​over commercial objectives and working closely with the Government to achieve this. He expanded Tesco’s delivery slots from 600,000 to 1.3 million a week, providing nearly 600,000 vulnerable customers with access to priority slots.

PROFESSOR FRANCIS GERARD MCCORMAC FRSE

Francis McCormac’s i​nspirational leadership at the University of Stirling has laid sound economic foundations for generations to come. The University has significantly increased its economic value over the past ten years, generating around £380m GVA per annum for the economy, an increase of 90% from the previous review. Income from graduates is expected as a further GVA over their working lives at approximately £400m for each annual cohort generated. He led on the regeneration of the campus, with new student residences (£40m), a new sports centre (£20m) and improvements to research and learning facilities (£21m).

DAVID CHARLES PEARSON CBE

David Pearson is a highly respected and influential local and national leader, his reputation is built on a long track record of outstanding service delivery, policy development and partnership. He began as a social worker for Nottinghamshire Council and was Director of Adult Social Care from 2006-19. He was President of the Directors of Adult Social Services, continued to serve as Honorary Treasurer beyond that and now acts as a mentor and wise counsellor to today’s sector leaders. He continues to inspire, influence and inform widely, having a positive impact for older and disabled people and those who are in the most vulnerable circumstances.

PROFESSOR DAVID IAN STUART FRS

David Stuart​is an international leader in structural biology devoting much of his career to understanding the detailed structures of viral proteins making profound impacts on human and animal health, pioneering innovative methods in vaccine development and structural biology. Over his career he has delivered ground-breaking insights into the biology of important human viruses such as poliovirus, HIV-1, hepatitis A and B, SARS and Ebola, amassing over 375 publications.

DAVID THOMPSON QPM DL

David Thompson​is a nationally and internationally recognised Chief Constable who has led England’s second largest force since 2016. He instigated the UK’s first Police Innovation Partnership with a global technology company and transformed West Midlands Police into a world leading innovator in policing. He leads the busiest Counter Terrorism (CT) Unit outside London and has influenced the strategic direction of CT policing during a time of significant increase in threat. He has led the National Policing Finance portfolio for 5 years and his drive and determination secured vast savings for UK policing during a time of sustained austerity.

GRAHAM VICK CBE

Graham Vick​is considered by many to be one of the foremost opera directors of modern times. Director of Productions of Scottish Opera 1984-87 and Glyndebourne 1994-2000, he has been Artistic Director of Birmingham Opera Company since its foundation in 1987 where his pioneering work has brought world premieres of Ravi Shankar, Dove, Battistelli, Stockhausen’s Mittwoch aus Licht and radical productions of Votzek, Othello, Khovanskygate to the most unlikely places (a disused factory, an abandoned ice rink, a defunct rock venue), integrating local volunteers into the process of making and building bridges with the city’s socially diverse, multi ethnic population.

PETER THOMAS WANLESS CB

Peter Wanless​has dedicated his working life to charitable causes and public service. In 2013 he joined the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) as its Chief Executive. Over the last seven years he has been an exemplary leader of the organisation and champion for children. He inspires thousands of NSPCC volunteers, fundraisers, companies and individuals to support its vision. In 2016 the NSPCC launched a new strategy to keep 5 million children safe over five years (which target was achieved two years early). The NSPCC has also provided a range of online support and guidance for children, parents and carers during the Covid-19 lockdown.

GUY HOWARD WESTON

Under ​Guy Weston’s​twenty year Chairmanship, the Garfield Weston Foundation has become the largest family grant-making Foundation in the UK. Established in 1958 by the Weston Family, the Foundation’s total grants across the UK exceed £1billion, of which over half has been granted in the last ten years alone. Guy’s leadership has seen the Foundation significantly increase the level of donations, from under £39million in 2000-01 to over £88million in 2019-20. Guy has offered his time and advice tirelessly to many great UK charities, enabling them to develop strategy, launch major appeals and encourage other donors.