The unsung heroes on the New Year’s Honours list, from police … – iNews
One of Britain’s first Asian police officers who played a key role in improving relations between the police and marginalised communities is among the unsung heroes recognised in the New Year’s Honours list.
Former Greater Manchester Police officer Asrar Ul-Haq, 60, said it was “humbling” to be awarded an OBE for his work, but he initially thought it was a scam after being emailed and called about his award.
Mr Ul-Haq said when he joined in 1985 the police service was “homophobic, sexist and misogynist” and that he faced “a lot of negativity” from fellow officers after identifying the need to set up the first police post in Manchester’s gay village.
He said: “Building that relationship was paramount. And we saw the results. We came from a homophobic organisation to an organisation of choice, Greater Manchester became an organisation of choice for people from gay, lesbian, transgender background.
“I only played a small part in that, but I’m proud that we made that journey.”
The mother of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, a nine-year-old girl who died from air pollution, said her CBE after her daughter’s death was “bittersweet”, but that her daughter would have been “overjoyed” by her award.
Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, who has campaigned for policy change after Ella died from an asthma attack and air pollution in 2013, added: “Although I got the inquest victory, she will be really, really proud that I didn’t give up.”
The oldest person to receive an honour in this year’s list is Peter Offord Davies, 100, from Macclesfield, who was awarded a BEM for his work as a reading volunteer at Dean Valley Community Primary School.
And the youngest, 18-year-old Dara Seamus McAnulty, receives a BEM for his environmental work and work with people with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Lissie Harper, the widow of murdered PC Andrew Harper, who lobbied the Government for what became known as Harper’s Law to ensure anyone found guilty of murdering an emergency services worker would be jailed for life, received an OBE.
Marie McCourt, the mother of murder victim Helen McCourt who vanished near their home in St Helens, Merseyside, in 1988 aged 22, is made an MBE.
She is being recognised for her work campaigning for Helen’s law, which came into force in 2021 and makes it harder for killers and paedophiles who hold back information about their victims to receive parole.
Anti-knife crime campaigner Ben Lindsay, 44, a former pastor, was awarded an OBE for his charity Power the Fight’s work empowering local communities to end youth violence, helping to cut crime in Lewisham, south east London.
The designer of the Government’s Covid dashboard – which became a key source for information on deaths, cases and vaccination numbers – Pouria Hadjibagheri, was made an MBE. He told i it was a “privilege” to be able to “use my skills and help my adopted country in its fight against the pandemic”.
Data scientist behind Government’s coronavirus dashboard made MBE
By Jane Merrick
One of the data scientists behind the Government’s coronavirus dashboard, which at its peak during the pandemic was viewed more than 70 million times a day, has been made an MBE.
Pouria Hadjibagheri helped develop the dashboard and process billions of data for the UK Health Security Agency, which was updated at 4pm every day with covid Cases, hospital admissions, deaths and vaccinations. It went on to become the government’s most-viewed website ever.
Mr Hadjibagheri has received the honour for services to data transparency during the pandemic.
He told i it was a “privilege” to be able to “use my skills and help my adopted country in its fight against the pandemic”.
He added: “I believe that transparency is key if you want people to support your decisions. This was shared in our team, and it was the team that made everything possible.
“We proved to decision-makers and ministers that we can do it fast, do it well, and do it in-house.
“We didn’t have enough resources, but we made up for it by working day, night, and midnight together because we knew that our work was important to the people. I am humbled by the honour, and although in my name, it truly belongs to each and everyone in the team.”
Mr Hadjibagheri said he was contacted by many members of the public who told him about the dashboard’s effect on their lives.
He added: “People found comfort in the data. Some were overwhelmed by the media coverage and couldn’t work out to whose views they needed to subscribe.
“Others wanted to analyse them for themselves. Then there were decision makers who needed proper data to help them decide, as did journalists to keep them on their toes.
“We filled the gap and provided documented data alongside simple visualisations without any commentary or interpretation.
“This was a conscious decision to ensure impartiality and therefore trust. People trusted us, and we felt the weight of their trust upon us in every single one of our decisions. We defended people’s right to know every day, and did everything in our power to ensure the integrity of that which we published. We didn’t compromise, and of that I am proud.”
Meanwhile, a trans media activist who has been made an OBE said she fears the honour could lead to a backlash.
Helen Belcher, 59, director of Transactual and trustee of Trans Media Watch, said: “I would hope it would open a few more doors. I would hope it would mean things that we say are taken with a little bit more seriousness.”
Another honoree, Tricia Anne Ward-Jones, 69, receives a BEM for her charitable work with terminally ill children and their families.
As a fundraiser for Promise Dreams, based in Wolverhampton, for more than 17 years, she has raised tens of thousands of pounds to change the lives of sick children and their families, including trips to Disneyland and the purchasing of specialised medical equipment.
Mrs Ward-Jones, who spoke about how one family had asked for the money so they could afford a family portrait before their child passed away, said she felt “an enormous sense of pride” at receiving her honour.
“You can imagine that it can be a bit of an emotional roller coaster at times when you think about what these children are going through,” she said.
“Having always worked with young children. I think it probably affects me a lot more than maybe other people.”
More on New Year Honours List
Jim Jones, 52, was made a BEM for changing the way Greater Manchester Police deals with military veterans.
He set up the Supporting Our Armed Forces Steering Group and developed a network of over 120 Armed Forces ‘champions’ dedicated to support veterans across the force.
Mr Jones said: “It’s quite emotional because obviously I’ve never had an award or an honour like this.”
Former royal nanny raised over £170,000 and collected essential supplies for Ukrainian refugees
By Joe Duggan
A former royal nanny who has raised more than £170,000 and essential supplies for Ukrainian refugee children said her BEM was a “huge honour.”
Louenna Hood, 38, was spurred into action after a friend in Poland sent her a photo showing refugees crossing the border in droves from war-torn Ukraine following the Russian invasion.
She has helped to organise delivery of five container loads of essentials to desperate families in Moldova, which borders Ukraine, after setting up a JustGiving page to collect money and calling for donations on her Instagram page.
Ms Hood, who was aided by her mother and up to 40 volunteers, said: “I honestly envisaged a few boxes. And then within an hour, I was like, Oh, actually, this is going to be more than a few boxes.
“And it just grew and grew and grew. And I ended up with two marquees on my driveway.”
During one trip to Moldova, where around 430,000 Ukrainian refugees have fled, she confronted suspected human traffickers who were trying to take a young mother away.
As a graduate from the world-famous Norland College in Bath, she has worked for several high profile and royal families around the world.
After posting about the campaign on her Instagram page, she was inundated with essential supplies such as nappies, medicines, baby wipes, travel cots and clothes and blankets.
“My dad served 22 years in the RAF and 18 years in the prison service and he now has advanced Parkinson’s disease and dementia.
“But there’s still a little bit of him left. I thought if there was any time to get an honour it’s now before he loses that last part of capacity, because he knows what’s happening to me and that that means a lot.”
And a clown who has performed for decades has told of his surprise at being recognised in the New Year Honours list.
Alan Digweed, 48, known as Tweedy the clown, has worked in the circus and shows across the world, and he has now been awarded a BEM.