New Year Honours: Hundreds of unsung heroes receive recognition in latest list
More than 1,200 people from across the UK have made it on to this New Year’s honours list, with a lot of famous faces getting recognised.
But while Gareth Southgate, Stephen Fry and Keely Hodgkinson may make the headlines, hundreds of unsung heroes have been recognised for their services to the country’s communities.
Here’s a small selection of the honour recipients from around the UK.
‘A bereaved mother is not to be messed with’
The co-founders of a group supporting families affected by male violence have been made Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the New Year Honours.
Carole Gould and Julie Devey, co-founders of Killed Women, started campaigning after their daughters, Ellie Gould and Poppy Devey Waterhouse, were murdered in their homes.
(Left to right) Ellie Gould and Poppy Devey Waterhouse who were murdered in their homes. Pics: PA/West Yorkshire Police
Both daughters were killed when they ended relationships with their killers.
Now, Ms Gould and Ms Devey are campaigning to see an increase in the starting tariff for murders in the home, from 15 years to 25 years, the same as for killings outside the home.
They say it is “insulting and disrespectful to those women to say that their lives are worth 10 years less”.
“By accepting the OBEs it will continue to shine a light on our campaigning and will keep the many unjust issues surrounding violence against women and girls in the spotlight,” said the co-founders in a statement.
“A bereaved mother is not to be messed with.”
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Ivan Black began raising money after his brother Ian died from leukaemia. Pic: Ivan Black/Facebook
‘All I’ve ever wanted to do is help one person’
A man who raised more than £700,000 for cancer charities said being made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) has pushed him to raise even more.
Ivan Black, 62, from Co Tyrone, began raising money after his brother Ian died from leukaemia aged 23.
He then lost his sister to breast cancer and his father to stomach cancer.
“All I’ve ever wanted to do is help one person,” he said.
“When I received the notification I couldn’t read the letter, I had tears in my eyes.”
Mr Black said he wanted to dedicate the honour to everyone who is battling cancer.
He said: “My brother, my sister, my father, this is all for them.
Joint youngest recipient
The joint-youngest person on the honours list is also being recognised for her charitable work in cancer.
18-year-old Mikayla Beames was diagnosed with cancer at just four years old.
She has now been awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) after founding Team Mikayla, a charity that grants the wishes of children suffering from cancer and has raised more than £300,000 to do so.
‘Working families are in need of support’
The founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, a parental rights organisation, said her MBE is “important recognition” of the struggles faced by working families.
Joeli Brearley, who is stepping down from the charity after ten years, said being recognised for her services to working families is “what it’s always been about”.
Joeli Brearley takes part in a protest in 2017. File pic: AP
“I think that people don’t really understand how much working families are in need of support right now,” she said.
“The childcare crisis, the issues of parental leave, low-paid work, there’s just so many problems.
Ms Brearley said the charity should “hold [Labour’s] feet to the fire” on its manifesto pledges as it reviews parental leave and introduces new employment rights.
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OBE for shipwreck hunting may boost mission
A shipwreck hunter who has been made an OBE hopes the honour will help bring a historic anchor back to the UK to commemorate the Windrush generation.
David Mearns is part of a team trying to bring the anchor of HMT Empire Windrush to the surface.
Jamaican men, mostly ex-Royal Air Force servicemen, pose for a photo aboard the HMT Empire Windrush in 1948. Pic: AP
The ship arrived in Essex in 1948, carrying primarily Caribbean migrants answering Britain’s call to address post-war labour shortages.
It sank off the coast of Algeria in 1954 and now, the Windrush Anchor Foundation is trying to recover its 1.5-tonne anchor to put it on permanent display.
“We want to recover that stern anchor, restore it, and bring it back to England and use it as a centrepiece in a public monument, a memorial to celebrate the contributions that the Windrush generations and their descendants have made to this country in terms of immigration and a positive force for multicultural Britain,” said the 66-year-old.
“I will volunteer my time gladly to make that project happen – it’s five years in the making, and hopefully this OBE will help raise the profile of that.
Mr Mearns said he has located 29 major shipwrecks in the past.
The suspended surgeon at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge has been named as paediatric consultant Kuldeep Stohr.
Eight hundred patients operated on by Ms Stohr are having their cases urgently re-examined, after an external review found nine children whose care fell below expected standards.
The initial review was ordered after concerns were raised by her colleagues.
Sky News has seen a copy of the interim report which details several issues relating to complex hip surgeries performed by the surgeon.
One of the parents whose child was identified in the review showed us a recent letter from the hospital which reported “problems with both judgement and technique” in her child’s surgery.
Ms Stohr, who has been suspended since the end of January, said in a statement: “I always strive to provide the highest standards of care to all my patients.
“I am co-operating fully with the trust investigation and it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”
Tammy Harrison: ‘It was hell’
Left in agonising pain
Tammy Harrison, 12, has cerebral palsy and had surgeries carried out by Ms Stohr. Her operations didn’t work, leaving her in agonising pain.
She said: “My first one was just like trauma. I couldn’t get out of bed for eight weeks. I was either stuck in bed or stuck on the sofa. It was hell.”
Her mum, Lynn, told Sky News: “There is nothing that can put Tammy back to where she was now and that’s the sad thing.
“If I could just click my fingers and have the child back that I had I would do it with a blink of an eye.”
Ms Stohr operated on Lynn Harrison’s daughter
So far, there’s been no confirmation of any wrongdoing in Tammy’s care.
But her family have a meeting at the hospital this week to find out more.
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The trust has asked a panel of specialist clinicians to review all the planned operations carried out by Ms Stohr at Addenbrooke’s. One hundred emergency trauma cases will also be looked at.
Addenbrooke’s is a major regional trauma centre and treats serious emergency patients from all over the region.
One clinician at the hospital told Sky News that the review of so many patients was “creating a lot of extra work”, which was “slowing things down” for other patients awaiting treatment.
Addenbrooke’s Hospital. File pic: PA
At least one extra locum consultant has been helping the team, as they work through the caseload.
Trust apologises
Sky News has been told Cambridge University Hospitals Trust had wanted to identify Ms Stohr before but had been threatened with a legal injunction.
The trust has apologised unreservedly to families and patients. But what’s troubling many is the fact concerns were raised about Ms Stohr a decade ago.
Chief executive of Cambridge University Hospitals Trust, Roland Sinker, has set up another review to examine whether opportunities were missed, and action could have been taken sooner.
The Department of Health described the ongoing situation as “incredibly concerning.”
Sir Keir Starmer promised “bold changes” as he announced he will relax rules around electric vehicles after carmakers were hit by Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The prime minister said “global trade is being transformed” after the US president‘s 25% levy on imported cars, and 10% tariff on other products, came into force.
Jaguar Land Rover has said the firm will “pause” shipments to the US as it looks to “address the new trading terms”.
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Labour made a manifesto pledge to restore a 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars after it had been rolled back to 2035 by Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government.
Starmer promises to ‘back British business’. Pic: Reuters
Sir Keir will officially confirm the ban in an announcement on Monday but regulations around manufacturing targets on electric cars and vans will be altered, to help firms in the transition.
Luxury supercar firms such as Aston Martin and McLaren will still be allowed to keep producing petrol cars beyond the 2030 date, because they only manufacture a small number of vehicles per year.
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‘Nothing off the table’ over tariffs
Petrol and diesel vans will also be allowed to be sold until 2035, along with hybrids and plug-in hybrid cars.
The government is also going to make it easier for manufacturers who do not comply with the government’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which sets sales targets, to avoid fines, and the levies will be reduced.
Sir Keir said: “I am determined to back British brilliance.
“Now more than ever UK businesses and working people need a government that steps up, not stands aside.
“That means action, not words.”
Officials have said support for the car industry will continue to be kept under review as the full impact of the tariffs announced last week becomes clear.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the industry deserves “clarity” in the economic context.
She said: “Our ambitious package of strengthening reforms will protect and create jobs, making the UK a global automotive leader in the switch to EVs, all the while meeting our core manifesto commitment to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030.”
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Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said the government had “recognised the intense pressure manufacturers are under”, while Colin Walker, a transport analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said the ZEV mandate is a “global success story” in driving a surge in sales of electric vehicles.
It comes as KPMG warned US tariffs on UK exports could see GDP growth fall to 0.8% in 2025 and 2026.
The accountancy firm said higher tariffs on specific categories, such as cars, aluminium and steel, would more than offset the exemption on pharmaceutical exports, leaving the effective tariffs imposed on UK exports at around 12%.
Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK, said: “Given the economic impact that tariffs would cause, there is a strong incentive to seek a negotiated settlement that diminishes the need for tariffs. The UK automotive manufacturing sector is particularly exposed given the complex supply chains of some producers.”
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