Dame Shirley Bassey, Sajid Javid and leading Lionesses among New Year Honours recipients

29 December 2023, 22:30 | Updated: 30 December 2023, 09:34

Dame Shirley Bassey, Sajid Javid and several England women's football stars are among the people who have been recognised in the New Year Honours list.

Dame Shirley was made a Companion of Honour for her services to music. The Welsh singer, 86, has sold more than 135 million records in a career spanning over 70 years.

She said: "My heart is full of emotion and I am truly humbled" at becoming the 64th living member of the order, which can only have 65 members at any one time.

Conservative former Chancellor and Home Secretary Mr Javid, who plans to stand down at the next election, has been knighted.

Sir Sajid was the first British Asian to hold one of the great offices of state, and served in six Cabinet posts after becoming an MP in 2010.

England's women's footballers Millie Bright, Mary Earps and Lauren Hemp have been recognised for their role in helping the Lionesses to the women's World Cup final this year.

Bright, the team's captain, has been made an OBE, while Earps and Hemp have been made MBEs.

Read more: Kate Garraway, Moira Stuart and Margherita Taylor among stars on New Years Honours list

Read more: Lionesses roar again as England women's football stars dominate honours list

Elsewhere in sport, former rugby league players Kevin Sinfield and Rob Burrow have been made CBEs in recognition of their fundraising for motor neurone disease (MND).

Sinfield has raised over £15million since his friend and former Leeds Rhinos teammate Burrow was diagnosed with MND, an incurable condition, four years ago.

Former England rugby union captain Sir Bill Beaumont has been made Knight Grand Cross for services to the sport and to charity.

England cricket legend Stuart Broad has been made a CBE following his retirement. Broad bowed out of the game in style this summer by hitting a six off his final ball and taking the match-winning wicket as England levelled the Ashes at the Oval.

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Ron Dennis, the former McLaren F1 team principal, has been knighted for services to charity.

Christian Horner, the CEO of F1 team Red Bull Racing, has received a CBE for services to motor racing.

In the arts, director and producer Sir Ridley Scott, whose works include Gladiator, Alien and Bladerunner, has been made a Knight Grand Cross, which is an upgrade on his previous knighthood.

Jilly Cooper, an author of popular novels, has been made a dame. Dame Jilly said: "I am absolutely and incredibly bowled over. I cannot believe I am a DBE, which in my case also stands for Delighted, Bewildered and Ecstatic."

Emilia Clarke, the Game of Thrones star, has been made an MBE alongside her mother Jenny as co-founders of SameYou, a brain injury recovery charity they established after she survived two brain haemorrhages.

Don Black, an Academy Award-winning lyricist, has been made a CBE for services to music. He wrote the lyrics to 'Diamonds are Forever', which was sung by Dame Shirley as the theme tune to the 1971 James Bond film of the same name.

Black, who has worked with Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sir Van Morrison and Michael Jackson in a career spanning more than six decades, said: "It is wonderful to receive this accolade for doing what I have always loved doing."

Chart-topping singer and former X-Factor winner Leona Lewis has been made an OBE for services to music and to charity.

Glastonbury Festival founder Sir Michael Eavis, listed under his full name Athelstan Joseph Michael Eavis, has been knighted for services to music and charity.

In politics, Dame Margaret Beckett, the Labour MP for Derby South, has had her damehood upgraded to a Dame Grand Cross.

Tim Martin, the founder of Wetherspoons, has been knighted for services to hospitality and culture.

Elsewhere, Sir Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (RVO) for his personal service to the Crown during the coronation at Westminster Abbey in May.

Awards of the RVO are given by the monarch independently of Downing Street to people who have served the royal family in a personal way.

Martin Hewitt, the head of the national police chiefs' council, has been given the Queen's Policing Medal (QPM) for services to policing.

Tony Hudgell, 9, has become the youngest person on record ever to feature in the New Year Honours with a British Empire Medal for services to the prevention of child abuse.

Tony was 41 days old when he was assaulted by his birth parents, an attack which caused multiple fractures, dislocations and blunt trauma to the face, leading to organ failure, toxic shock and sepsis.

He was left untreated and in agony for 10 days, and due to the extent of his injuries both his legs had to be amputated.

Tony has since raised more than £1.8 million for charity after starting when he was aged just five, is the co-founder of the Tony Hudgell Foundation and also inspired "Tony's Law", which updated guidelines to allow tougher sentencing for people convicted of child cruelty.

His family said he was "thrilled" to receive the award.

This year's list includes a total of 1,227 recipients, 48% of whom are women, and 13.8% come from an ethnic minority background.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: "The New Year's Honours List recognises the exceptional achievements of people across the country and those who have shown the highest commitment to selflessness and compassion.

"To all honourees, you are the pride of this country and an inspiration to us all."