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Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor OBE |
Royal endorsement for rail fundraiser
Awards for city boss, actor, professor and writer
CROSSRAIL won a royal endorsement from the Queen this week when one of the chief fundraisers for the £16billion high-speed railway through central London was knighted for services to business.
The chairman of the Corporation of London Michael Snyder secured £350million for the project from business leaders in central London. The move saw the Prime Minister give final approval for the high speed rail link.
“It’s wonderful to be honoured in this way,” he said. “I don’t think it will alter my attitude. I’m still going to lead on the Crossrail project, which I helped facilitate. It’s always nice to be recognised for what you’ve been able to do, but it’s always a team effort.”
A chief Labour Party donor and policy adviser was also among the list announced on Monday. Anthony Bailey, a prominent Christian who advises Gordon Brown on education policy and religious matters, and counts Tony Blair among his close friends, was recognised for services to interfaith relations to charity with an OBE. He was in 2007 appointed chair of Labour’s Faith Task Force. The 37-year-old is chairman of the PR firm Eligo International, which he founded in 1992 and counts BAE Systems among its clients.
Mr Bailey raised more than £8million for Labour’s flagship academy schools programme. He lives in Bayswater.
Marion Thorpe, also living in Bayswater, has been made CBE for services to music. Also known as the Countess of Harewood, she founded the Leeds International piano competition. The daughter of the musician Erwin Stein, born in 1926 in Vienna, Austria, she is the wife of the former Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe.
Sandra Breen, an administrator at Mary Ward Adult Education Centre in Bloomsbury who lives in Coram’s Fields, was made MBE for services to the centre and the people of Holborn. She was described as a “lynchpin” by her colleagues, embodying the spirit of centre, founded in 1896.
She said: “It was a good shock. It was delightfully unexpected. I’ve been here for 15 years. I started on reception, now I work for the vice principal. I’ll just carry on what I’m doing, but I think it’s a good thing for the centre.”
Peter Scott Blackman has been given an OBE for services to voluntary services to black and minority ethnic healthcare. Living in St John’s Wood, he is director of the Afiya Trust. The organisation works to reduce inequalities in health for black and minority ethnic groups. He said he was “honoured” to have received the award.
A School of Oriental and African Studies professor who translated the Qur’an for a seminal text published by Oxford University was made OBE for his services to Arabic culture and literature and to inter-faith understanding. Regarded as one of the finest Middle Eastern scholars of his generation, Muhammad Abdel Haleem published The Qur’an: A New Translation and Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage.
He said: “I am absolutely delighted. I never thought this would happen. It means I will have to work harder to better the understanding of faith in this country to justify myself. It felt tall already, and now I feel even taller. I love this country and have grandchildren at schools here.” Professor Haleem has argued that British Muslims fighting against British forces in Afghanistan are violating the instructions of the Qur’an.
The actor Chiwetel Ejiofor has been recognised for his services to drama with an OBE. Last year he was celebrated for his performance of Othello in a Donmar production.
The performance as the jealous Moor of Venice won him the coveted Olivier Award for best actor this year. The 33-year-old was born in east London but has since moved to the West End, living in Soho.
He was joined by Roy Williams who receives an OBE for services to drama. Mr Williams, who lives in Queen’s Park, has been writing plays for 10 years. His last work, Joe Guy, about life growing up as a teenager in London, was performed at the Soho Theatre.
Soho writer and producer Lynda La Plante was made MBE for services to literature, drama and to charity. |
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