Lewis Hamilton was made a knight in the New Year Honours list last night – despite living in the tax haven of Monaco.

The seven-time Formula 1 champion, 35, was honoured alongside stars, including actress Sheila Hancock who becomes a dame at the age of 87, and NHS workers who have battled the pandemic.

Veteran footballers Jimmy Greaves and Ron Flowers were made MBEs along with singer Craig David while Line Of Duty and Bodyguard writer Jed Mercurio was given an OBE.

Hamilton, 35, who is worth more than £250million, quit the UK in 2007 to live in the tax havens of Switzerland and Monaco.

Lewis Hamilton was made a knight in the New Year Honours list last night – despite living in the tax haven of Monaco. He is pictured with Naomi Campbell and ex-girlfriend, singer Nicole Scherzinger

The seven-time Formula 1 champion, 35, is worth more than £250million, and quit the UK in 2007 to live in the tax havens of Switzerland and Monaco. Hamilton insists he does pay some tax in the UK. He is seen above, aged 14, with Prince Charles

But he insists he does pay some tax in the UK. He has stressed: ‘I am contributing to the country and, not only that, I help to keep a team of more than 1,000 people employed.’

Boris Johnson had come under sustained pressure to include Hamilton in the list after a year in which he equalled German ace Michael Schumacher’s record with seven F1 titles and became a vocal activist for the Black Lives Matter movement. Hamilton was raised in a council house in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.

It is understood the sport honours committee was unable to recommend him through the usual channels because his Monaco residency meant that Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs could not vet his tax affairs adequately.

Hamilton has stressed: ‘I am contributing to the country and, not only that, I help to keep a team of more than 1,000 people employed’

Boris Johnson had come under sustained pressure to include Hamilton in the list after a year in which he equalled German ace Michael Schumacher’s record with seven F1 titles and became a vocal activist for the Black Lives Matter movement. Hamilton was raised in a council house in Stevenage, Hertfordshire

As the Mail has revealed, Mr Johnson was so keen to see Hamilton knighted that he was included on the Foreign Office’s ‘Overseas’ list – the first time a British sporting figure had been accommodated in this way.

Donna Fraser, of UK Athletics, who sits on the committee which decides sporting honours, said he was a ‘phenomenal’ sportsman who deserved the knighthood but conceded the honours system did have to be protected from ‘disrepute’.

But Tory MP Andrew Percy questioned why an F1 driver should receive a knighthood on Britain’s diplomatic list. He added: ‘I would have thought their sponsorship deal would be enough for them.’

Meanwhile, Miss Hancock joked she felt ‘miscast’ for her damehood, adding: ‘I feel I may be lowering the tone.’

Dame Sheila, who has worked on stage and screen since the 1960s and was married to Inspector Morse star John Thaw until his death in 2002, said she felt the honour brought ‘an immense sense of duty’.

Actress Sheila Hancock has become a dame at the age of 87. Dame Sheila, who has worked on stage and screen since the 1960s and was married to Inspector Morse star John Thaw until his death in 2002, said she felt the honour brought ‘an immense sense of duty’

EastEnders actress Nina Wadia (left) received an OBE and Coronation Street veteran Sally Dynevor (right), 57, who has played Sally Webster since 1986, becomes an MBE

Actress Lesley Manville, 64, who will play Princess Margaret in the final two seasons of Netflix hit The Crown, was made a CBE

She said: ‘I feel I’ve got to prove something and work even harder, particularly in my charity area. I’ve got to earn it, as it were, now quickly before I die.’

Actress Lesley Manville, 64, who will play Princess Margaret in the final two seasons of Netflix hit The Crown, was made a CBE.

EastEnders actress Nina Wadia received an OBE and Coronation Street veteran Sally Dynevor, 57, who has played Sally Webster since 1986, becomes an MBE.

Actor Toby Jones, who has played Alfred Hitchcock and Dobby the house-elf in Harry Potter, received an OBE.

Oscar-winning cinematographer Roger Deakins, who worked on films including Blade Runner, Shawshank Redemption and Skyfall, was knighted.

Broadcaster Eric Robson, 73, who headed Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time for almost three decades, was given an OBE.

Football heroes Greaves, 80, and Flowers, 86, were made MBEs after a long-running campaign to ensure every surviving member of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning squad gets an honour.

Actor Toby Jones (left), who has played Alfred Hitchcock and Dobby the house-elf in Harry Potter, received an OBE – while singer Craig David (right) was made an MBE

Oscar-winning cinematographer Roger Deakins, who worked on films including Blade Runner, Shawshank Redemption and Skyfall, was knighted

The Prime Minister said he hoped the New Year Honours would inspire the nation. Mr Johnson said: ‘In a year when so many have made sacrifices to protect our NHS and save people’s lives, the outstanding efforts of those receiving honours today are a welcome reminder of the strength of human spirit and of what can be achieved through courage and compassion.

‘The 2021 New Year Honours offer us an opportunity to salute their dedication and recognise many who have gone above and beyond in their contribution to our country.

‘As we begin a new year and continue to come together to fight this virus, may their service and stories be an inspiration to us all.’

Football heroes Jimmy Greaves, 80, and Ron Flowers (right), 86, were made MBEs after a long-running campaign to ensure every surviving member of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning squad gets an honour

Government officials said it was ‘profoundly right’ that the honours should celebrate frontline workers who had helped to save countless lives from the virus.

They stressed that future honours lists would continue to celebrate the work of those fighting the pandemic, including the teams behind recent vaccine breakthroughs.

This year there have been calls for the word ’empire’ to be dropped from honours in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests and ongoing controversy over Britain’s colonial past.

However, officials said there were no plans to remove it. They stressed that this year’s list was the most diverse in its history, with 14 per cent of all awards going to people from black and ethnic minority communities.

Broadcaster Eric Robson, 73, who headed Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time for almost three decades, was given an OBE

 

Knighthood for sacked Attorney General Geoffrey Cox QC… and a £1million Conservative Party donor

By GLEN KEOGH for the Daily Mail

Former Attorney General Geoffrey Cox QC was awarded a knighthood yesterday, despite being sacked from the Cabinet by Boris Johnson earlier this year.

The MP and barrister reportedly provoked the wrath of the Prime Minister ahead of his reshuffle in February.

He also faced controversy last year when, as Britain’s most senior legal officer, he advised the Government that Parliament could be prorogued – only for the decision to be overturned by the Supreme Court.

Mr Cox also spoke at Mr Johnson’s launch to become Conservative Party leader. Guy Weston, a major donor of at least £1million to the party, is knighted for his services to philanthropy and charity.

Former Attorney General Geoffrey Cox QC was awarded a knighthood yesterday, despite being sacked from the Cabinet by Boris Johnson earlier this year. The MP and barrister reportedly provoked the wrath of the Prime Minister ahead of his reshuffle in February

Guy Weston, a major donor of at least £1million to the party, is knighted for his services to philanthropy and charity

Mr Weston is from one of Britain’s richest families, with their wealth estimated at £10.5billion by the Sunday Times earlier this year due to stakes in companies including Primark and Fortnum and Mason.

Lynne Owens, head of the National Crime Agency, was awarded a damehood for services to law enforcement, despite criticism over the appointment of the police chief behind Scotland Yard’s disastrous VIP abuse inquiry as her deputy.

Steve Rodhouse became Mrs Owens’s £245,000-a-year number two despite being savaged by a former High Court judge for his role in the Met’s £2.5million Operation Midland investigation into bogus claims of a Westminster paedophile ring.

Mark Bowman, the Treasury mandarin responsible for negotiating Britain’s £38million Brexit ‘divorce bill’ payment to Brussels, was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath.

Lynne Owens, head of the National Crime Agency, was awarded a damehood for services to law enforcement, despite criticism over the appointment of the police chief behind Scotland Yard’s disastrous VIP abuse inquiry as her deputy

Labour heavyweights were also handed gongs. Angela Eagle, an MP since 1992, becomes a dame. She resigned from the frontbench as shadow business secretary in 2016 over Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership

Labour heavyweights were also handed gongs. Angela Eagle, an MP since 1992, becomes a dame. She resigned from the frontbench as shadow business secretary in 2016 over Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.

Tom Clarke, was awarded a knighthood aged 79 in recognition of his long parliamentary career which includes serving the Scottish constituency of Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill for more than 30 years.

There was also an award for Dave Lewis, the former chief executive of Tesco, who was knighted after turning round the supermarket’s fortunes after the company was forced to admit it had overstated profits by £250million in 2014.

There was also a damehood for Irene Hays, co-founder of Hays Travel, the UK’s largest independent travel agent, for services to training, education and young people.

There was also an award for Dave Lewis, the former chief executive of Tesco, who was knighted after turning round the supermarket’s fortunes after the company was forced to admit it had overstated profits by £250million in 2014

The company saved thousands of jobs when it acquired all Thomas Cook stores last year following the travel giant’s collapse.

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of industry body UKHospitality, was given an OBE after a year which has seen the sector hit by mass closures and redundancies.

And Professor Paul Cosford, emeritus medical director of Public Health England was knighted, having spoken candidly in recent months of his diagnosis of incurable lung cancer.

 

Parents of girl, 15, who died after suffering allergic reaction to a Pret baguette on a BA flight say they are ‘humbled’ to accept OBEs in her memory for charity work following her death

By JACK ELSOM for MailOnline

The parents of a 15-year-old girl who died from a severe allergic reaction after eating a Pret a Manger baguette have been awarded OBEs in the New Year’s Honours list.

Tanya and Nadim Ednan-Laperouse said they were ‘humbled’ to accept their awards in the name of their ‘beloved’ Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who collapsed on a BA flight to Nice on July 17, 2016.

Natasha, from Fulham, west London, died of anaphylaxis after unknowingly eating sesame contained in an artichoke, olive and tapenade baguette she had bought at Heathrow Airport.

Her mother and father, who have since set up the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation and successfully lobbied ministers for improved labelling of products, are being recognised by the Queen for their services to charity and people with allergic disease.

Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, 15, collapsed on a flight to Nice on July 17, 2016, after eating a Pret a Manger baguette