the times | Saturday January 1 2022 2GM 7News
ed in 1992, 17 years after he left No 10.
Blair said in a statement: “It is an
immense honour to be appointed
Knight Companion of the Most Noble
Order of the Garter, and I am deeply
grateful to Her Majesty the Queen. It
was a great privilege to serve as prime
minister and I would like to thank all
those who served alongside me for their
commitment to our country.”
The Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer,
said: “My congratulations to Tony Blair
on this recognition for his public ser-
vice to our country.”Labour MP, has been made a member
of the Order of the Companions of
Honour, which he said was a “terrific
privilege”. The award is limited to the
sovereign and 65 recipients at any one
time and present holders range from Sir
Elton John to George Osborne. The
late Desmond Tutu was an honorary
member. Field, 79, who is terminally ill,
is noted for being an original thinker.
He was a Labour MP for 40 years and a
leading figure on campaigns on child
poverty and pay.
Other political honours include a
knighthood for Robert Buckland, the
former justice secretary sacked by
Johnson to make room in the cabinet,
and Robert Goodwill, the former minis-
ter whose attempt to oust Sir Graham
Brady as head of 1922 Committee of
backbench Tories was backed by the
government. Caroline Dinenage, who
was also sacked in September’s re-
shuffle, is made a dame.
Bill Wiggin, 55, the Conservative
backbencher, is also knighted. He
worked the equivalent of a day a week
on outside interests, including for off-
shore investment firms, and earned
£73,000 on top of his MPs’ salary.Knighthood for Remainer
who gave Tories £1 million
Chris Smyth Whitehall EditorA hedge fund manager and philanthro-
pist who has donated more than £1 mil-
lion to the Conservative Party has been
given a knighthood. David Harding,
who has also donated £100 million to
Cambridge University, is honoured for
services to philanthropy.
Harding, founder of the Winton in-
vestment group, has given £475,000 to
the Tories since Johnson became leader.
This is despite having been one of the
biggest contributors to the Remain
campaign, to which he gave £3.5 million.
Labour accused the Conservatives of
“rewarding their chums with gongs”.
Anneliese Dodds, the Labour chair-
woman, said: “It seems the Conserva-
tives are ringing in the new year in ex-
actly the same way they’ve seen out the
old: by rewarding their chums with
gongs instead of our key worker heroes.
“If you want Boris Johnson to re-
commend you for a knighthood, don’t
bother working long hours on low wa-
ges to help others — just become a
hedge fund manager and donate half a
million pounds to the Tories.”
Lord Field of Birkenhead, the formerTony Blair has been appointed by the
Queen to Britain’s highest order of chiv-
alry, the Order of the Garter, after a
14-year wait, paving the way for other
former prime ministers to be honoured.
The decision by the Queen to
appoint him a Knight Companion fol-
lowed months of speculation over why
it took her so long to confer the honour
after he left Downing Street.
The appointment, which is in the per-
sonal gift of the Queen, has regularly
been bestowed upon past prime minis-
ters, with Sir John Major, Blair’s prede-
cessor, the last to receive the honour.
The Queen also appointed the Duch-
ess of Cornwall, 74, to the order. The
duchess becomes a Royal Companion,
which means that she does not count as
one of the 24 members, officially
known as Knight or Lady Companions.
The former Labour leader has had to
wait far longer to join the order than ei-
ther of his two most recent predeces-
sors. Major was appointed in 2005,
eight years after leaving office, while
Baroness Thatcher was appointed less
than five years after leaving No 10.
Because of the convention that no
prime minister is appointed until their
predecessors have joined the order,
Blair’s appointment clears the way for
Gordon Brown, David Cameron and
Theresa May.
The Sunday Times said last De-
cember there were concerns it was
the Queen’s dislike of Blair that
had resulted in the “bedblocking”
of other former premiers. Some re-
ports have suggested that Blair’s
handling of the funeral of Diana, Prin-
cess of Wales in 1997, may have dis-
pleased the Queen.
All but one of the Queen’s nine prime
ministers before Blair were made a
Knight of the Garter, an honour
created by Edward III in 1348. The only
exception was Alec Douglas-Home,
who was given the Order of the Thistle,
the Scottish equivalent.
Blair is not the only one to have had
to bide his time. Edward Heath, who is
not thought to have had a warm rela-
tionship with the Queen, was appoint-honours in brief
Antiracism campaigner
Trevor Phillips rewarded
Trevor Phillips, the broadcaster, Times
columnist and former chairman of
the Equality and Human Rights
Commission, receives a knighthood.
Phillips, 68, is currently hosting
Sky News’s Sunday morning politics
programme while Sophy Ridge is on
maternity leave. He has been a vocal
antiracism campaigner and has
criticised the lack of diversity at the
highest levels of politics, business and
the media. He said: “The past two
years should have taught us all that
the diversity of our people is both a
benefit and a responsibility. We
should respect difference but also
remember that we are at our best
when we face our challenges as a
single nation.”Mother of Manchester
bomb victim made OBE
The mother of one of the
Manchester Arena victims said she
was “completely humbled” to be
made an OBE. Figen Murray, 60,
has completed a master’s degree in
counter-terrorism, campaigned for
increased security measures and
spoken to 14,000 schoolchildren
about the dangers of radicalisation
since her son Martyn Hett, 29, died
in the attack after an Ariana Grande
concert in 2017. She said that her
inclusion in the New Year Honours
had come as a surprise.
“I have no idea who recommended
me and I feel completely humbled
and really honoured,” she said,
adding: “I think Martyn would
probably be very proud of me.”Number of ‘gongs for
the girls’ takes a tumble
The Cabinet Office said it was
disappointed after the number of
women receiving awards fell
compared with last year. This year
612 women have been recognised,
47.9 per cent of the total of 1,278. This
compares with 49 per cent last year.
Among the higher awards, CBE or
above, only 35.9 per cent of the
recipients are women, down by eight
points on two years ago. A source
said: “I don’t think progress has
stalled but of course progress can be
slow, and we would like to ramp up
the pace.” More than 15.1 per cent of
people on the list come from an
ethnic minority, 25.5 per cent from a
lower socio-economic background
and 3.5 per cent are LGBT.News
After a 14-year wait,
Blair gets his garter
Valentine Low What the honours are for
Order of the Garter Founded in
1348, it is the most senior order of
knighthood, outranked only by the
Victoria Cross and the George Cross.
Membership, granted for public
service or service to the sovereign,
is limited to 24 living people plus the
Queen and the Prince of Wales.
Companion of Honour (CH) This is
awarded for longstanding
contributions to arts, science,
medicine or government.
Order of the Bath (GCB/DCB/KCB/
CB) Recognises the work of senior
military officials and civil servants.
Order of St Michael and St George
(Knight/GCMG/KCMG/DCMG/CMG)
This honour rewards service abroad
or in relation to foreign and
Commonwealth affairs.
Knighthood and damehood
(KBE/DBE) For people who make a
major contribution at national level.
Commander of the Order of the
British Empire (CBE) Awarded to
people who have a lesser role
nationally or a leading role
regionally.
Officer of the Order of the British
Empire (OBE) For those who have a
major local role in any activity.
Member of the Order of the British
Empire (MBE) For achievements or
service to the community.Max Woosey, 12,
known as “tent boy”,
is awarded a BEM for
his fundraisingTobias Weller, 11, a
charity fundraiser, is
the youngest child to
be awarded the BEMMel B of the Spice
Girls is made an MBE
for her work on
domestic violenceProfessor Chris
Whitty, chief medical
officer for England,
receives a knighthoodTrevor Phillips, ethnic
equality campaigner
and Times columnist,
receives a knighthood