Hundreds of people critical to the UK’s fight against Covid-19, including medical staff and community volunteers, have received awards in a Queen’s Birthday Honours list delayed to allow recognition of those combating the epidemic and its effects.
Those honoured in the list, announced on Friday, included Felicia Kwaku, associate director of nursing at King’s College Hospital in south London. She becomes an OBE for starting a support network helping black and minority ethnic nurses during the pandemic. Jolene Miller, from Stockton, County Durham, who returned to working part-time as a paramedic to help her former colleagues, receives the British Empire Medal.
Marcus Rashford, the Manchester United and England footballer, becomes an MBE for his work helping children living in food poverty during the lockdown. The same award has been given to Joe Wicks and Derrick Evans, known as Mr Motivator, for their work offering online workouts for people to follow at home during lockdown.
Prime minister Boris Johnson said the recipients of the honours were testament to the sort of country the UK was — “caring, compassionate and resolute in the face of a global pandemic”.
“The hard work and dedication of these local, often unsung heroes has helped carry us through,” Mr Johnson said. “I congratulate them all.”
In business, Emma Walmsley, chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline, the pharmaceutical company heavily involved in developing coronavirus vaccines, becomes a dame. There are knighthoods for Andrew Mackenzie, former chief executive of resources company BHP; Graham Wrigley, chair of development finance institution the CDC Group and one of the founders of the Permira Group investment firm; and Tony Gallagher, the property entrepreneur. Sir Tony is a prominent donor to the Conservative party.
David Attenborough, the naturalist and broadcaster, already a knight, is appointed a GCMG — a special award for people who make a significant contribution to foreign and Commonwealth affairs. Tim Barrow, the UK’s ambassador to the EU, and Julian King, the UK’s last EU commissioner, are also both honoured with GCMGs to add to their knighthoods.
Among entertainers and sportspeople, there are honours for Mary Berry, the celebrity baker; and Maureen Lipman, the actress, who become dames. Brendan Foster, the former long-distance runner; Thomas Hicks, known professionally as Tommy Steele, the entertainer; and David Suchet, the actor, all receive knighthoods. Paul Smith, the fashion designer, is made a Companion of Honour — a title bestowed on a maximum of 65 people who have made an outstanding contribution to the arts, science, medicine or government over a prolonged period.
The honours are normally announced in early June, on the Queen’s official birthday. They were postponed to allow officials who assess nominations from the public to consider thousands of suggestions for people working in the public, private and voluntary sectors to combat the pandemic.
Of the 1,495 people in the list, 414 were nominated for their response to the coronavirus crisis.
Ms Kwaku said that, after she and other staff at her hospital heard in January and February about the threat from coronavirus, they had to adjust rapidly to what it meant in terms of patient care.
“It meant that we had to rapidly train people up to develop new skills to take care of the sickest patients,” Ms Kwaku said. “We had to move staff from areas where they were very sure and certain to completely new and different areas and we had to do this at a really, really fast pace.”
Ms Kwaku started a support network for black and minority ethnic nurses and midwives after realising by April that many were dying, in some cases because of a lack of personal protective equipment or other shortcomings.
The honour recognised everyone who had put their lives at risk while working in the medical profession during the pandemic, Ms Kwaku said. “It’s not just about me; it’s about my fallen colleagues.”
Nominations for work during the pandemic went through a more rapid process than the normal 18-month to two-year vetting process. The multiple committees involved sought to avoid honouring anyone whose role might subsequently prove contentious in a public inquiry, according to one person involved.
Most of the other people recognised were put forward before the UK went into lockdown in late March.
Dame Emma, the most prominent serving business executive honoured, is the first woman to run a leading global pharmaceutical company, having been in charge of GSK since April 2017. She received the award in particular because of her efforts to improve diversity and equality at the company.