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Birthday Honours List 2024 - High Awards (HTML)

Published 14 June 2024

Companion of Honour

THE RT HON. JAMES GORDON BROWN 

He held senior positions in Government, including that of Chancellor of the Exchequer for over ten years and Prime Minister during the global financial crisis. Subsequently, he was appointed as the United Nations’ Special Envoy for Global Education and as World Health Organisation Ambassador for Global Health Financing. On the home front, he has supported numerous charitable activities within Fife, serving as a Member of Parliament there for 32 years, and, in particular, at the Cottage Family Centre in Kirkcaldy and the more recent Multibank project that started in Lochgelly which works with both large and local businesses to donate surplus goods to local charities, school and health services, reducing both poverty and environmental waste. Donations from companies and local trusts as well as no-cost facilities and services from storage and distribution companies have enabled the Multibanks’ rapid growth. By June 2023 the Multibank project is estimated to have distributed over three million goods to 250,000 families in Fife, Dundee, Wigan, Swansea and is expanding to locations in the Northeast, Midlands, Northern Ireland, Wales and London with longer term plans for the Commonwealth too. His office has donated over £4.4million to UK charities to date.

Dame and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE)

DAME JENNIFER GITA ABRAMSKY DBE

A media producer and philanthropist, she has devoted her working life to the delivery of outstanding public service broadcasting and her contribution has had a profound impact on the UK broadcasting landscape. In 2008, after 39 years service, she left the BBC and focused her service voluntarily on education, the Arts, heritage and the environment. She chaired the Board of Hampstead Theatre, was the Chair of the Governors of the Royal Ballet and served as a trustee of the UK’s largest youth drama festival, the Shakespeare Schools Foundation. She is the Chair of Trustees of National Life Stories and in July 2024 steps down, after ten years, as Chair of the Royal Academy of Music. She previously served for six years as Chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund and as Chair of the University of London. In 2017 she was appointed deputy Chair of the Canal and River Trust and has since 2020 been Chair of the Friends of Kenwood House.

THE RT HON. TERENCE MICHAEL ELKAN BARNET, LORD ETHERTON KC

A retired judge and member of the House of Lords, he was Chair of the Law Commission of England and Wales from 2006 to 2009, Chancellor of the High Court from 2013 to 2016 and Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil Justice in England and Wales from 2016 to 2021. In May 2022, he was appointed as the chair, by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and the Secretary of State for Defence, of the independent review into the impact of the historic ban on LGBT military personnel and veterans, which was published in July 2023. In writing his report, he personally read every testimony provided to the Review, over 1,400 pieces, some of considerable length. He met with veterans and charities throughout the UK, attended Prides throughout Britain, and met a range of ministers, other parliamentarians and military officers from the UK and abroad. He dedicated 15 months of his life, without pay or reward, to write and deliver the historic, ground-breaking report and the recommendations, which were fully accepted by the Government, are now being implemented in full. His work unveiled a culture of homophobia, bullying, blackmail, sexual assault, abusive investigations into sexual orientation and disgraceful medical examinations resulting in appalling consequences in terms of mental health and wellbeing, homelessness, employment, personal relationships and financial hardship. His commitment to the truth has helped draw a line under this unjust aspect of the history of the UK’s armed forces that persisted prior to 2000 but whose damaging consequences are still experienced by many LGBT veterans today. 

Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath (DCB)

ANTONIA REBECCA CAROLINE ANGHARAD CATHERINE ROMEO

She started her Civil Service career in 2000 at the Ministry of Justice where she held several posts including Principal Private Secretary to the Lord Chancellor. In 2008, she moved to become a Director at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, responsible for Strategy, Communications and Intelligence Policy including the Detainees Inquiry. She joined the Cabinet Office in 2010 as Executive Director and led the design and implementation of major reforms of the UK Government governance model. She moved back to the Ministry of Justice first as Director General Transformation and Corporate Services, then Director General Criminal Justice. She then returned to Cabinet Office as Director General Economic and Domestic Affairs, where she coordinated economic and domestic advice to the Prime Minister and deputised for the Cabinet Secretary in the smooth running of Cabinet. She moved to become HM Consul General New York and HM Special Envoy to the US Technology Sector at the Foreign Office, in 2015, where she was the senior diplomat in New York during the US election and led on economic and commercial relationships between the UK and North America, working with global CEOs to maintain inward investment plans following the EU Referendum. In 2017, she became Permanent Secretary at the Department for International Trade leading trade negotiations and market access arrangements with countries outside the EU; global trade policy; global export promotion; and inward investment. In January 2021, she was appointed to one of the most senior Permanent Secretary roles in Whitehall, leading the MoJ, where she leads 90,000 people working across prisons, probation and courts and oversees several complex infrastructure programmes. She also serves as Clerk of the Crown in Chancery.

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB)

JAMES ALAN HARRA CB

The most senior tax professional in Government, this highly gifted senior tax and policy professional and organisational leader is unique in dedicating his 40 year career to public service in the Inland Revenue and latterly HM Revenue and Customs, across IT, operations and tax policy. As HMRC’s Second Permanent Secretary (2018-19), he led HMRC’s extensive preparations for EU exit. As Chief Executive (since 2019), he has put fairness and public trust at the heart of everything HMRC does, by promoting the department’s vital purpose of funding the UK’s public services, prioritising helping taxpayers to get things right and ensuring that the exercise of enforcement powers is proportionate. His most notable impact in the UK economy has been his high profile leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic. The delivery by HMRC of significant financial support schemes kept people employed and supported families at a point of national crisis. 

PETER HUGH GORDON SCHOFIELD CB

With a long Civil Service career, as Permanent Secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions, Peter holds one of the most important operational delivery leadership roles in Whitehall. He has demonstrated his relentless commitment to performance and delivery for citizens by prioritising the prompt and accurate payment of benefits, automating and streamlining processes where possible, moving resources to underperforming areas to support recovery and taking action to reduce fraud and error. Notable successes in his current role include meeting the unprecedented demand for benefits during the pandemic; successful programmes for getting people back into work (‘Plan for Jobs’, ‘Way to Work’); the national rollout of the 50+ work coach offer; and the prompt payment of post-pandemic Cost of Living support – 8 million Cost of Living Payments, 6 million Disability Cost of Living Payments and 11 million Winter Fuel Payments. Peter has fostered a culture of delivery innovation in the Department.

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)

KAREN BUCK

She joined the Labour Party in 1987 as a health researcher, becoming a campaign strategy coordinator in 1992. She was elected to Westminster City Council in 1990 and to Parliament in 1997 as MP for Regent’s Park and Kensington North until 2010, and then Westminster North. Between 2013 and 2015 she served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition, Ed Miliband. She served until September 2023 as Shadow Minister for Social Security and has held a number of other jobs in Government and in Opposition including Parliamentary Under-Secretary in the Department of Transport, Shadow Minister for Work and Pensions and Shadow Minister for Education. In December 2018, her Private Member’s Bill received Royal Assent as the Homes Act, which came into force in March 2019. She has campaigned for better housing, urban regeneration and child welfare and was the founder and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Legal Aid for over 15 years. After more than thirty years in public life, she has been seen as a strong advocate for her local community on the national stage.

TRACEY KARIMA EMIN CBE

She has been a major figure in contemporary art for over 25 years, known for her autobiographical and confessional artwork. She is a Royal Academician, one of just two women professors to be appointed at London’s Royal Academy of Arts since the Academy was founded in 1768. In 2013, she was honoured with a CBE for services to the arts and named one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by Woman’s Hour on BBC Radio 4. In 2020, she had an exhibition containing works by Edvard Munch entitled The Loneliness of the Soul at the Royal Academy of Arts, displaying 19 pieces of Munch’s work alongside 25 pieces of her own. This exhibition was the first to be shown at the newly opened Munch Museum in Oslo. She was made an Honorary Freewoman of Margate in 2022. In 2023, it was announced that she was to join the British Museum’s Board of Trustees, the first female Royal Academician appointed to the role in the Museum’s history. In March 2023, she opened the Tracey Emin Artist Residency programme in Margate and in June 2023, she unveiled three bronze doors at the reopening of The National Portrait Gallery featuring 45 carved bronze panels that she secretly worked on, unpaid, for its redevelopment.

FFION LLYWELYN, THE LADY HAGUE OF RICHMOND 

She is the founder of Independent Board Evaluation and is one of the UK’s leading board evaluators, advising many FTSE 100 and major international company boards on their governance. Ffion is also a Welsh broadcaster, author and former civil servant who has played a leading role in promoting Welsh language and culture.  She was a judge of the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2000, the Royal Society Prize in 2009 and the Welsh Book of the Year in 2012 and published her biography of the women in the life of Lloyd George (The Pain and the Privilege) in 2008.  She works with S4C (Channel 4 in Wales), winning a Wales BAFTA in 2009 for her documentary ‘Dwy Wraig Lloyd George’ (The Two Wives of Lloyd George) and executive produces/presents series and documentaries profiling historically significant Welsh women.  She has served on a number of charity boards including The British Council, Action on Addiction, KIDS, and the Voices Foundation. She was Deputy Chair of English National Opera to 2014 and served as Trustee and Deputy Chair of the Outward Bound Trust from 2002-2012. 

REBECCA HARRIS 

She has served as the Member of Parliament for Castle Point since 2010. Currently the Comptroller of the Household, she played a key role in the procession for HM Queen Elizabeth II’s State Funeral and His Majesty the King’s Coronation in May 2023. She is responsible for ensuring all Government legislation progresses through Parliament and into law, including Brexit legislation, the Environment Act, Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, Nationality and Borders Act, Illegal Migration Act and the Domestic Abuse Act. She has served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and has been a member of the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee. She has worked as an adviser and has also served as a local councillor. She is a huge advocate for small businesses in Parliament and led a notable campaign on business rates. She has been a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Visteon Pensioners, the co-chair of the APPG for Fuel Poverty and Energy Efficiency, and the Chair of the APPG for Brain Tumours. 

ANYA SUSANNAH SEYMOUR HINDMARCH CBE

She is a celebrated fashion designer of global renown, famous for creating luxury accessories, playful personalisation and for ground-breaking work in sustainability. She strives to educate consumers on sustainable fashion, dissuading customers from over-consumption and encouraging a more considered way to shop. In 2020, she launched her I Am A Plastic Bag collection, tackling post-consumer waste by constructing each bag from recycled plastic bottles. In 2021, she collaborated with supermarkets to design The Universal Bag, a reusable, fully recyclable shopping bag made from recycled plastic, and constructed to last 10 years. The bag contains an innovative, convenient built-in pocket that acts as a Freepost envelope, allowing the bag to be placed in any post box when the user is ready to recycle it. Hindmarch and her collaborative partners for the initiative have committed to share their learnings from the project with global retailers on request, aiming to advance progress in the use, reuse and recycling of shopping bags internationally. The same year she also launched a collection of bags entitled Return to Nature, using pioneering leather tanning and finishing techniques intended to enable the bags to biodegrade at the end of their useful life. She became a Greenpeace Ambassador in 2019.

JULIA ANNE HOGGETT 

She has provided inspirational leadership in helping to restore the role of the UK capital markets and the London Stock Exchange as a major provider of capital to fund innovation, productivity, growth, jobs and to support investors’ returns. She set up and chairs the UK Capital Markets Industry Taskforce to support the modernisation of the UK capital markets. She has also sought to ensure that the London Stock Exchange (LSE) remained strong through challenging times including during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. She has influenced quoted companies to embrace NetZero targets and the wider ESG agenda and under her leadership, the LSE is now the leading provider of green and transition finance. She is a pioneer for women and the LGBTQ+ community in financial services, fostering diversity and inclusion in finance and championing initiatives to create more inclusive work environments. 

PROFESSOR KAREN MARGARET HOLFORD CBE FRENG

In 2021, she became the first woman to lead Cranfield University. Her career spans industry and academia, previously at Cardiff University her research focussed on damage assessment using acoustic emission in industrial applications including bridges and aerospace landing gear. She serves on the boards of the Oxford- Cambridge arc Universities Group, Oxford Cambridge Supercluster and Universities UK and as Chair of the Midland Innovation University Partnership Board. She is a Non-Executive Director at the FSTE250 firm Renishaw, and a member of the Science and Technology Advisory Council at the National Physical Laboratory. She was previously a Council member for UKRI STFC, the Chair of EPSRC Engineering Strategic Advisory Team, and Chair of the Royal Academy of Engineering Research Committee where she oversaw the establishment of the Awardee Excellence Community, bringing together over 3,000 engineering future leaders for mutual support. She has consistently championed efforts to improve diversity in engineering. She has been named in the Top 50 Women in Engineering, one of Wales’s 100 Most Influential Women and has received the Suffrage Science award in Physical Sciences and Engineering, the WISE Excellence award and Welsh Woman of the Year award in Science and Technology. She was awarded CBE in the New Year Honours List 2018.

CLARE KELLY MARCHANT

She assumed the role of Chief Executive at the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) in 2017, transforming student services. The apprenticeship offer is now accessed over 2 million times a year, with more than 400,000 students expressing interest in this route alongside other undergraduate options. She is committed to addressing social mobility and vocational priorities, helping students from diverse backgrounds make informed decisions about their future by positioning UCAS as a leading advocate for student progression. Introducing tools like Clearing Plus and the Hub supports previously marginalised student groups, care leavers, LGBTQ+ individuals, those with disabilities, and others facing mental health challenges, helping to accommodate the growing 18-year-old population and shaping the HE journeys for nearly 1.5 million students.

DERVILLA MARY MITCHELL

She is one of the UK’s most successful and respected engineering leaders. She is lately Deputy Chair of Arup Group, a collective of over 18,000 experts working across 140 countries, since 2021 and member of its global group board since 2014. She has worked on several iconic projects, including leading the Heathrow T5 design team. A valued member of the Prime Minister’s Council for Science & Technology since 2014, she was one of the leaders of its work on harnessing technology to meet increasing care needs and led its influential 2018 project on Computational Modelling. In 2016-19, she chaired the Royal Academy for Engineering’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee establishing it as a leading voice on inclusive leadership and has published a wide variety of impactful reports and open access tools, convened collaborations across industry and professional bodies. She scaled up its Graduate Engineering Engagement Programme, winning Business in the Community’s Race Equality Award in 2019. She took on the leadership for decarbonisation activities under the National Engineering Policy Centre 2019 and has become a leading global advocate for adopting the systems approaches that will be vital to the achievement of Net Zero. In 2020, she won the Royal Academy for Engineering President’s Medal, the highest award for Fellows; Building Magazine’s Woman of the Year 2017; and holds Honorary Doctorates from University College Dublin and Imperial College London. 

JUDITH IRENE PETTS CBE

Under her leadership, the University of Plymouth has twice been named among the world’s top five universities for marine science and engineering, receiving the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for marine microplastics research in 2019 and being shortlisted as University of the Year in the 2022 Times Higher Education Awards. In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, 78% of the University’s submission was assessed as internationally excellent. She has built on the University’s economic impact, delivering £819m of output to the UK economy each year. She is one of the founding signatories of Marine Research Plymouth, a partnership between the University, Plymouth Marine Laboratory and the Marine Biological Association designed to cement Plymouth as the go-to location for world-leading marine research. She has represented the sector in developing the DfE Sustainability Strategy, chaired the Defra/DECC Social Science Expert Panel and was a commissioner on the Climate Commission for UK Higher and Further Education Students and Leaders. 

HANNAH MARY ROTHSCHILD CBE

She is one of the UK’s leading philanthropists, granting over £100 million per year personally and through her family’s two foundations. She is also an award-winning documentary filmmaker, best-selling novelist and journalist. A former trustee of the Whitechapel, the ICA and Tate, in 2015, she became the first woman to Chair the National Gallery Board and remains chair of the American Friends of the National Gallery. Since 2018, she’s chaired Yad Hanadiv, a charity dedicated to supporting all the inhabitants of Israel and in addition to a wide annual programme dedicated to education, equal opportunities, Arab Society, early learning and the environment, the foundation built the Knesset, the Supreme Court and most recently the National Library to which it contributed more than $250 million. She is the patron and Chair of The Rothschild Foundation which gives grants each year to maintain the National Trust property Waddesdon Manor as well as supporting the arts and heritage, the environment and social welfare. Hannah originated the illuminated River Project which turned all central London’s bridges into the world’s longest artwork at no cost to the public purse. During the pandemic, she established the Covid-19 Support Fund which provided 98 grants amounting a total of £2.5 million to support the local third sector organisations and this work continues with a community fund. Other programmes include a new secondary school hub; support for a dedicated school for children with special needs; initiatives in literacy and the arts; core funding for smaller charities;  food security and poverty; youth concern; music education; regenerative agriculture and cancer care.

JASVINDER KAUR SANGHERA CBE

She is a national and international expert on forced marriage (FM) and honour based abuse (HBA), constantly seeking to help victims and survivors and raise awareness of their plight. She helps shape and inform government policy, successfully championing four new laws, two of which being raising the age of consent to marriage to 18 for all children and banning virginity testing. She has advised Government departments internationally on FM and HBA, providing testimony for FM legislation in Canada, Australia, the EU and the US. Her campaign in support of repatriated victims of FM led to an HMG policy change in 2019. The helpline she founded in 1993 is now the only UK national helpline for both victims and professionals and, since its inception, has received over 200,000 calls for support. She established a Survivor Ambassador Panel, campaigned for HMIC inspections into domestic abuse and trained 30 forces in handling these cases. She led a campaign for an annual National Day of Memory for victims of HBA and has helped LGBT+ individuals through the Naz and Matt Foundation to combat religious homophobia. Her books have been translated into 8 languages and she has achieved global reach through her TED talks which have generated 2.3m views worldwide.

PROFESSOR JANICE DEBRA SIGSWORTH CBE

She is Chief Nurse at Imperial College Healthcare Trust and was recognised in 2018 with a CBE for her services to nursing. Imperial is one of the Shelford Group’s leading organisations influencing and delivering healthcare across the capital. Her most significant contribution has been in the region of genomics, a key flagship policy of the government and NHS that links life sciences, research and healthcare agendas. Janice is the national professional lead for embedding genomics into nursing and midwifery practice. She has taken responsibility on a national basis to strengthen the delivery of the genomics by actively influencing the inclusion of senior nursing leadership in Genomic Medicine Services Alliances and by leading the nursing and midwifery genomics agenda at a regional and national level. Janice has also chaired the Safe Nurse Staffing Shelford committee which has created a number of safe nurse staffing tools to support Directors of Nursing across the country in safe delivery of care. She is a special Trustee of the General Nursing Council for England and Wales Trust; was a member of the national Health Education England Nursing and Midwifery Advisory Board; and has honorary appointments at King’s College, Bucks and Middlesex Universities.

IMELDA MARY PHILOMENA BERNADETTE STAUNTON CBE

Imelda Staunton is a multi award winning actress, and is one of the most feted performers of her generation. She has been nominated 13 times for OLIVIER Awards and won four OLIVIER Awards for her work at the National theatre and in the West End, including a highly acclaimed production of Gypsy, as well as Sweeney Todd. She won a best actress BAFTA for Vera Drake, a role which also awarded her an OSCAR nomination. She is very well known for her portrayal of Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter. On television, she has been BAFTA nominated for her roles in Cranford and The Girl. Also, she was BAFTA nominated for the film Pride. She has appeared in two Downton Abbey films. Most recently she has portrayed Queen Elizabeth II in the final two seasons of The Crown. She has been a Patron of Richard House Children’s Hospice since 2005 and, in 2014, became a Patron of Greenfingers, a charity that creates gardens for children’s hospices. She is also patron of Breathe Arts Health Research, and an Ambassador for the homeless charity CRISIS.

DR HELEN MARY STEPHENSON CBE

She was appointed Chief Executive of the Charity Commission in July 2017 and in 2024, she will step down after seven years at the top of the organisation making her the Commission’s longest serving Chief Executive. She was instrumental in ensuring meaningful change in how charities are governed and held to account, following safeguarding and other scandals in 2015-18. She has sought closer, more regular ties with sector bodies, has overseen a firmer grip on casework, with historic backlogs managed down and wrongdoing tackled head on. Under her leadership, the Commission has supported trustees to run their charities well with clear and simple guidance . It now answers 12,000 more calls a year, helping 6,000 more charities. By putting the public interest front and centre, public trust in the charity sector has improved thus enabling the ongoing sustainability of the sector. She has been a non-Executive Director of the National Lottery Community Fund since 2022; Chair of the National Childbirth Trust from 2015 – 2017 and a Board member of the Big Society Trust from 2011 – 2014.

EVELYN MAY TAYLOR OBE

At 92, she is still leading the company she started in 1963 and her brand is recognised as the UK’s leading professional-use beauty industry name across the country and worldwide for her education and product development. During Covid, her company pioneered online education for her students whilst maintaining consistent supplies to professionals. She has been instrumental in growing the professional beauty sector in the UK whilst adapting her company to use 100% renewable energy. She is constantly striving to improve her products and make them more sustainable. She has helped the UK beauty industry’s recognition overseas with training initiatives in numerous countries. In 2019, she was awarded Best Facial Skincare Products, Best Skincare Brand, Best Natural or Organic Brand at the National Professional Beauty Awards; Women Leaders Peterborough Awards (2017); Best Supplier of Specific Training (2010); BABTAC Lifetime Award for Holistic and Beauty Industry (2010) and she has been nominated for the Guild Awards for Excellence in 2014, 2015 and 2016. She is very supportive of new beauty therapist start-ups and offers a range of affordable products to help them get established.

PROFESSOR MOIRA KATHERINE BRIGID WHYTE OBE

She has a formidable record of academic leadership and clinical service and has been an exemplary role model for women in medical and scientific leadership. She was Vice-Principal and Head of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine 2017-23. Her career has combined clinical practice with world-leading research on molecular mechanisms of innate immune cell death in the context of chronic inflammatory lung disease and of host defence against bacterial infection, areas of major therapeutic challenge and exciting potential for treatment of antibiotic-resistant infections. As Chair of the MRC Training and Careers Group 2017-23, she was instrumental in national policy work reviewing scientific training pathways resulting in improved support for both clinical and non-clinical scientists with a focus on critical career transitions through targeted but flexible funding. She successfully championed specific interventions to enhance the retention and progression of women in independent research careers. As Chair of the Clinical Academic Training Forum 2019-21, she played a pivotal role during the Covid-19 pandemic. She informed the design of clinical trials at the height of the pandemic, and allowed the rapid return of clinical academic trainees to support this national health emergency. 

ALISON MARGARET, BARONESS WOLF OF DULWICH CBE

She is the Sir Roy Griffiths Professor of Public Sector Management at King’s College London  and sits as a crossbench peer in the Lords specialising in the relationship between education and the labour market. In 2022, she was appointed to the Advisory Council for the Government’s Levelling Up strategy. She has helped drive skills reforms including as an independent panel member for the Post-18 Review of Education and Funding (Augar Review). Her work supported policy development and co-ordination of cross-government agreement for the Lifelong Learning Entitlement and the introduction of Free Courses for Jobs and Skills Bootcamps and Local Skills Improvement Plans. She was the founding Chair of Governors of King’s College London Mathematics School and is a founding Trustee of the University Maths School Network. She authored the Wolf Review of Vocational Education and has been an adviser on education to many government ministries and international organisations. She has published widely in applied economics and education journals.

Knights Bachelor

ALAN BATES

He has been a leading figure in bringing to light one of the biggest miscarriages of justice ever seen in British history. Following the Post Office’s introduction of its Horizon computer system, he fell into dispute about the branch accounts. He began to challenge the Post Office about the Horizon system’s reliability. He contacted other postmasters who were similarly affected and formed the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance (JFSA). By lobbying MPs, they persuaded the Post Office to commission an investigation which they undermined. He investigated the possibility of legal class action against the Post Office persuading lawyers of a viable case, and secured a funder’s support. He was the JFSA’s lead witness at the trial in what became known as the “GLO” (Group Litigation Order) case. The JFSA won highly favourable verdicts in two of the five planned trials but had to negotiate a sub-optimal settlement, of which around three quarters went to cover the costs of bringing the case. Nonetheless Alan and his colleagues had succeeded in exposing the truth. In March 2022, the Government agreed to provide an additional compensation scheme for GLO group members. He has committed twenty years of his life to his campaign, describing it as an unpaid full time job. 

ROBERT FREDERICK BEHRENS CBE

In 2017, he was appointed Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) at a time of low staff morale and a poor reputation. His hard-hitting reports stabilised the organisation. He professionalised the workforce and restored staff morale from 52% staff engagement index in 2016 to 71% in 2022. He developed a new Complaint Standards for Government and the NHS, and supported organisations to embed a culture that learns from complaints, introducing mediation to supplement investigation. As an elected member of the World Board and European Vice-President of the International Ombudsman Institute, he championed learning in Ombudsman offices around the world. He has become an increasingly influential voice on patient safety, willing to expose failings and equally committed to offering solutions whilst driving cultural change needed in the NHS. He has also called for a review on NHS leadership and made robust recommendations in the most serious health and citizen rights cases. He has held roles in the Bar Standards Board, the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, the University College London, and as Chair of the European Network of Ombuds in Higher Education. Since 2022, he is Chair of Governors ARU Peterborough. 

WAYNE DAVID

He was elected to public office in 1985, serving for five years on Cefn Cribwr Community Council before going on to represent South Wales in the European Parliament. He was Leader of the Labour Group and Vice President of the Parliament’s Socialist Group for four years. Elected as the Member of Parliament for the Caerphilly  constituency in June 2001 he became a Government Whip in June 2007. He went on to serve as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Wales Office between October 2008 and May 2010. He then served as the Shadow Minister for Wales, Scotland, Europe, Youth Justice and Political Reform. Between October 2013 and May 2015 he was the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the then Leader of the Opposition, Ed Miliband. He was Shadow Minister for the Armed Forces and Defence Procurement from October 2016 until he stepped down after the General Election in December 2019 and is currently the Shadow Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, having also served in that role between April 2020 and December 2021. After nearly forty years in public life, he announced he would not be standing for re-election at the next general election.

RICHARD PHILIP DOUGLAS CB

During his time in the Department of Health (2001-2015, including a period as Acting Permanent Secretary), he was a key part of the leadership team that developed and implemented reforms such as Foundation Trusts, Independent Sector Treatment Centres and Payment by Results, transforming waiting time performance. As DH DG of Finance, his financial planning and strategy set the tone for the NHS’s most successful period ever in achieving major waiting time targets and much improved clinical outcomes. As Head of the Government Finance Profession for HMT, he promoted the role of finance in government, embedding the Finance Transformation Programme within the Civil Service Reform Plan leading to the recognition of Finance as the most effective cross-government professional group in Whitehall. He served as a non-executive director of NHS Improvement and NHS England, and was Deputy Chair of the NHSI Board.

NIALL CAMPBELL FERGUSON 

He is the author of sixteen books. His first, Paper and Iron, was short-listed for the History Today Book of the Year award, while the collection of essays he edited, Virtual History: Alternatives and Counterfactuals, was a UK bestseller. In 1998 he published to international critical acclaim The Pity of War. In 2003, he wrote and presented a six-part history of the British Empire for Channel 4. The accompanying book, Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World, was a bestseller in both Britain and the US. The sequel, Colossus: The Rise and Fall of the American Empire, was published in 2004 and prompted Time magazine to name him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. The international bestseller, The Ascent of Money (2008) won the International Emmy award for Best Documentary, as well as the Handelszeitung Economics Book Prize. His book on the life of Henry Kissinger won the 2016 Council on Foreign Relations Arthur Ross Book Award. His most recent book is Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe (2021). His many prizes and awards include the Benjamin Franklin Prize for Public Service (2010); the Ludwig Erhard Prize for Economic Journalism (2013); and Columnist of the Year at the 2018 British Press Awards.

RICHARD CECIL GREENHALGH

He was the founding Chair of the National College for School Leadership, establishing it nationally and internationally as a renowned centre for educational leadership development. Whilst Chair of Hope and Homes for Children, his strong governance ensured that humanitarian aid was provided to 19,000 families in Ukraine and over 20,000 refugees in Romania and Moldova. He chaired British Youth Opera and established with his wife Annie a music scholarship at Cambridge University. Under his chairmanship, United Learning’s scale transformed from 43 academies to 80 by September 2023, with approximately 10,000 employees and educating around 65,000 pupils. Across all its academies inspected in the group, 89% are ‘good’ or better, compared to 39% at their previous inspection. During the pandemic, he helped manage the EdTech Demonstrator programme and develop Teaching School Hubs. He strengthened governance links and forged stronger relationships enabling a much stronger voice within the sector.

PROFESSOR TONY KOUZARIDES FMEDSCI FRS

Tony has made a significant global impact on disease treatment and positively transformed the way academics engage with healthcare businesses. He has achieved this directly, through his own entrepreneurial activities, and by the creation of novel institutional paradigms that pave the way for others to do the same. A world-renowned cancer scientist, he co-founded Abcam Ltd, now a global giant valued at £5.7bn, to provide research reagents to scientists around the world. He co-founded Storm Therapeutics, a drug discovery company associated with his research lab that has a cancer drug in clinical trials. He co-founded and directs the Milner Therapeutics Institute, which engages academic researchers with pharmaceutical companies, and nurtures the development of therapeutic start-ups. He founded Conquer Cancer (Vencer el Cancer) which raises funds for Spanish cancer laboratories. As a Cypriot, he was honoured by the President of Cyprus with the first ever Excellence in Science Medal.

NICHOLAS STEPHEN LELAND LYONS

He has combined business success with driving social and gender diversity in the workplace. His vision to harness the success of the financial sector to benefit the broader economy is widely praised, and in particular his outstanding contribution to the UK’s financial and professional services. He has relentlessly driven the case for greater investment by pension funds in the growth economy culminating in the Mansion House Compact and described by the Chancellor of the Exchequer as a great personal triumph for the Lord Mayor. It commits 2/3rds of the UK’s entire direct contribution pensions market to such investment which could unlock up to £50 billion of investment in high growth companies. Following Mansion House Summits he has pushed the Global Investment Futures and COP ‘net zero’ agendas on sustainable finance, investment and asset management and the City of London offer at home and abroad. He has targeted poor financial literacy with a Leaders’ Steering Group tasked with identifying solutions. He has been a Vice Chair of Governors of The King’s School Canterbury for 16 years, responsible for securing £80 million funding for community outreach and support to broaden access. He set up a network of supporters for the East Anglia Art Fund and a donor network which raised substantial funds for the Shooting Star Chase Children’s Hospices.

ANDREW DAVID MARSH QPM

He is one of policing’s leading figures, with an outstanding record of delivery domestically as Chief Constable in two forces and internationally for his leadership of NPCC’s international portfolio. He has transformed the College of Policing’s reputation, making it more responsive, supporting policing on issues from public order to burglary response in a dynamic and effective way. He has delivered a clear vision focused on better support for forces, improving standards to restore public trust and driving a comprehensive change in leadership. He has provided greater support for forces placed in the HMICFRS Engage process (special measures) by using his experience to ensure the College provides targeted support. He launched a consultation on the College’s Vetting Code of Practice to deliver reform urgently to restore public trust and a new Code was published in 2023. He has overseen the revision of the Code of Ethics and has prioritised reforming police leadership for the most senior officers. He also plays a central role in delivering the Police Race Action Plan to ensure there is more diverse leadership across the service.

WAYNE MCGREGOR CBE

He is a multi-award-winning British choreographer and director, internationally renowned for trailblazing innovations in performance that have radically redefined dance in the modern era. He has directed and choreographed over 160 works throughout his 30 year career, including over forty works for Company Wayne McGregor, which he founded in 1993, and more than twenty works for The Royal Ballet where he has been Resident Choreographer since 2006. His work is in the repertoires of the most important dance companies in the world including Paris Opera Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, La Scala Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, and American Ballet Theater. He choreographed the revolutionary avatar concert ABBA Voyage in 2022. In 2017 he founded Studio Wayne McGregor at Here East, the first legacy arts building in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. In the same year he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the British Science Association. He became an Arts Foundation Ambassador in 2019, was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Prix de Lausanne in 2021, and received an honorary doctorate from the Royal College of Art in 2023. He is Professor of Choreography at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, President of Elmhurst Ballet School, Vice-President of The Roundhouse, and is part of the Circle of Cultural Fellow at King’s College London. Since 2021 he has been Director of Dance for the prestigious Venice Biennale.

JOHN MILFORD RUTTER CBE

He is one of the most prolific composers of church music in recent times. His Christmas carols are world-renowned whilst other major works include ‘Gloria’, ‘Requiem’ and ‘Magnificat’. He has guest conducted/lectured at concert halls, universities, churches, music festivals, and conferences globally. He has conducted concerts at the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. National and local choral societies, churches, school and community choirs all recognise his inspiring works. He has composed music for the weddings of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, as well as for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and a St John’s College Prayer for the Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge to mark the 500th anniversary of the foundation of the College. His music was also used at the Queen’s Golden and Platinum Jubilee thanksgiving services, and the Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla. He is a champion of making choral music accessible, through his Come and Sing workshop events which are open to all. In 2023 he was awarded the Ivors Academy’s highest award, the Academy Fellowship, in recognition of excellence and impact in the art and craft of music creation.

PROFESSOR JAMES FERGUSON SKEA FRSE

He is an internationally renowned scientific leader having dedicated over forty years to ensuring the challenges of climate change are understood and action to avert them is undertaken for the benefit of humanity. He is Chair of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and is the first UK Chair of this august body. He spearheaded initiatives to expand participation in the IPCC, including an open competition for early career scientists from developing countries to participate as chapter scientists, providing invaluable career development and networking. He co-led the landmark IPCC report on global warming of 1.5C, which led to a step change in global climate action by triggering net zero targets covering 90% of global emissions. He also co-led the flagship 2022 report on Climate Change Mitigation, providing a blueprint for mitigating emissions which has informed accelerated commitments in the UN, G20 and beyond. He was a member of the UK Climate Change Committee responsible for advising the Government on progress to net zero. From 2018-2023, he chaired the Scottish Just Transition Commission.

MARK EDWARD TUCKER

He has been non-executive Chairman of HSBC Holdings since 2017, having shown outstanding leadership and contribution to the financial services industry, with over 35 years’ experience, both within the UK and globally. From 2019 to 2022, he was the Board Chairman of TheCityUK, an industry-led body representing financial and related services which contributed significantly to promoting the UK’s position as a leading global financial services centre. He played an important role in TheCityUK’s inaugural International Conference in 2022, establishing a new annual meeting bringing together senior industry leaders to explore the sector’s future approach to international trade and investment. He has provided significant contribution to public policy as a member of the Prime Minister’s Build Back Better Council, helping unlock investment, boost job creation and level up the whole of the UK. His roles in the Trade Finance Advisory Group of the International Chamber of Commerce and in the UK Department for Trade ‘s Financial Services Trade Advisory Group, alongside his membership of the UK Investment Council and service as a director on the Court of the Bank of England, are testament to his continued dedication to UK interests in financial services. 

ROGER WILLIAM WRIGHT CBE

In 2014, he became CEO of Aldeburgh Music and in 2020 led the merger of Britten Pears Foundation and Snape Maltings (formerly Aldeburgh Music) to form Britten Pears Arts. This new charity is a creative campus and visitor destination centre on two heritage sites on the Suffolk coast, bringing together musicians, researchers, communities and audiences. He curates year-round music programmes, including commissioning important new work, and developing young and established British and international artists, bolstering the reputation of BPA around the globe, not least in creative health. He is committed to supporting local and regional music education and pioneering initiatives with positive impacts for its East Anglian communities, whilst being a sector leader in promoting excellence and inclusion. Through the recent challenging economic times, he has tirelessly and creatively focused on presenting work for live audiences, whenever this has been permitted, often at very short notice and with British artists desperate for performance opportunities, and always to the highest standards.