Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Labour MP Emily Thornberry have both been recognised in the 2025 New Year Honours List.
Khan, who received a knighthood, said it was already “the honour of my life to serve the city I love” after three consecutive terms as the mayor of the UK’s capital, but added he was “truly humbled” to receive the honour in Labour’s first list since their landslide victory in July.
His recognition was met with some criticism, though – shadow home secretary Chris Philp said it was a “reward for failure” and pointed to the levels of knife crime in London and the missed housing targets.
Meanwhile, Thornberry, previously a senior member of Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet who was snubbed when the PM came to creating his current cabinet, has been made a dame.
She told PA news agency she was “both honoured and surprised” by the recognition, adding: “I think of my grandmothers, neither of whom were even allowed to work as married women, and think how utterly delighted they’d be to see this.
“My husband [Christopher Nugee] was knighted a few years ago and I never felt comfortable sharing his title, calling myself, ‘Lady Nugee’, but Dame Emily is a name I’d be proud to go by.”
Former West Midlands mayor, the Conservative Andy Street, and his fellow Tory, the former long-serving schools minister Nick Gibb, also received knighthoods.
Other parliamentarians were recognised in the list too, such as former MPs Ranil Jayawardena, the environment secretary in Liz Truss’s government, and former Tory deputy chief whip Marcus Jones, both of whom are now knights.
Ex-Labour MP Kate Hollern was granted a CBE while Lord Mike Katz was appointed MBE.
Wrongly convicted sub-postmasters – Lee Castleton, Jo Hamilton, Christopher Head and Seema Misra – also became OBEs, as did the journalist who broke the story, Rebecca Thomson, all for services to justice.
It comes after the campaigners battled to take the Post Office to court over the Horizon IT scandal.
Domestic violence and abuse campaigners also made the list, as did stars such as actress Anne-Marie Duff, Carey Mulligan and Sarah Lancashire.
Stephen Fry was knighted for his work on mental health awareness and the environment while Gareth Southgate was recognised for leading the men’s England football team to the Euros finals (twice in row).
More than 1,200 people from a range of industries have been mentioned in this year’s list, which intends to celebrate both well-known achievements and the “unsung heroes” for local communities.
The honours can be recommended by the prime minister, senior government ministers or even members of the public, before being officially awarded by the King.
The honours, in descending order, include:
- GBE (Knight or Dame) - Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
- KBE or DBE (Knight or Dame) - Knight Commander or Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
- CBE - Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
- OBE - Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
- MBE - Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
PM Keir Starmer said: “Each and every day, ordinary people go out and do extraordinary things for their communities.
“They represent the very best of the UK and that core value of service which I put at the centre of everything this government does.
“The New Year Honours List celebrates more of these unsung heroes, and I thank them for their incredible contribution.”