The Queen’s Birthday Honours list on the occasion of Her Majesty’s official 90th birthday, recognises the achievements of a wide range of extraordinary people right across the United Kingdom.
Each recipient exemplifies the very best of our nation – from the well-known and widely loved singer Dame Vera Lynn who is recommended for the Companion of Honour (CH) at the age of 99; to 21-year-old apprentice Gary Doyle who receives a British Empire Medal (BEM). This year’s honours are the most diverse since the Order of the British Empire was founded in 1917 with the greatest ever number of recipients coming from a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) background. In total 1,149 people have received an award:
· 1,004 candidates have been selected at BEM, MBE and OBE level. 312 at BEM, 477 at MBE and 215 at OBE
· 70% of the recipients are people who have undertaken outstanding work in their communities either in a voluntary or paid capacity
· there are 538 successful women candidates in the list, representing 47% of the total
· 8.2% of the successful candidates (90 people) come from a BAME background: the greatest ever number of BAME recipients in an honours list
· 5.2% of the successful candidates consider themselves to have a disability under the Equality Act 2010
There are a number of well-known names being honoured in this list including a knighthood for singer and songwriter Rod Stewart; there are CBEs for cricketer, Alastair Cook; OBEs go to actor Brian Blessed; actor and broadcaster Adil Ray; and well-known broadcasting duo Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (Ant and Dec). Locally Canon Yaqub Masih, of Salendine Nook, Huddersfield was awarded an MBE.
The 57 year old Sunrise Radio presenter receives the award for services to Community Cohesion and Inter-faith Relations in West Yorkshire
He was the first Asian to be made a lay canon in the Church of England and has been the driving force behind several major fundraising campaigns to help victims of terror attacks in Pakistan.
A delighted Yaqub Masih told Sunrise Radio “It is a great honour and surprise”.
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