New Year Honours 2025: Everyone from Leeds and Wakefield commended including Gabby Logan and community champions

There have also been honours dished out to those in politics, education, business and charity who have done their bit for Leeds and the wider region over the years.

Nationally there has been special honours bestowed on acting star Idris Elba, writer and broadcaster Richard Osman and ice skating icons Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean.

Below is a full list of all of the honours presented to those in Leeds and Wakefield:

Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)

• Professor Piers Maxwell de Ferranti Forster. Interim Chair, Climate Change Committee and Professor of Physical Climate Change, University of Leeds. For services to Tackling Climate Change. (Harrogate, North Yorkshire)

Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)

• Gail Faulkner. Head Consultant, Leeds Relational Practice Centre, Leeds City Council. For services to Children's Social Work Service. (Pontefract, West Yorkshire)
• Gabby Logan MBE. Broadcaster. For services to Sports Broadcasting and to Charity. (Buckinghamshire)

Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)

• Leisa Batkin. For services to People Living with Diamond Blackfan Anaemia Syndrome. (Leeds, West Yorkshire)
• David John Gurney. Chief Executive Officer, Cockburn Multi-Academy Trust, Leeds, Yorkshire. For services to Education. (Bradford, West Yorkshire)
• Mary Harland. Councillor, Leeds City Council. For Political Service. (Leeds, West Yorkshire)
• Susan Lane. Head of Business Management, Programmes and Directors Private Offices, HM Revenue and Customs. For Charitable, Voluntary and Public Service. (Leeds, West Yorkshire)
• James Philip Lupton. Employment Tax Specialist, Lloyds Banking Group and Chair, HM Revenue and Customs Taxpayers' Data Standards Forum. For services to Taxpayers. (Leeds, West Yorkshire)
• George Nicholas Munson. Lately Energy and Climate Change Manager, Leeds City Council. For services to Net Zero and the Heat Network Sector. (Leeds, West Yorkshire)
• Clive David Rand. Committee Member, West Yorkshire Business Branch, Royal National Lifeboat Institution. For Voluntary Service to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. (Leeds, West Yorkshire)

Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM)

• Dean Paul Buckle. For services to the community in Wetherby, West Yorkshire. (Wetherby, West Yorkshire)
• David Everatt. For services to People Living with Disabilities in Leeds. (Wetherby, West Yorkshire)
• Lisa Riding. Head of the Speech and Communication Specialist Resource, St Thomas à Becket, Wakefield, West Yorkshire. For services to Education. (Wakefield, West Yorkshire)

THE ROYAL VICTORIAN ORDER

CVO

• Edmund John Seward Anderson CBE. lately Lord-Lieutenant of West Yorkshire. (West Yorkshire)

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KING'S POLICE MEDAL (KPM)

• Heather Millicent Whoriskey. Detective Chief Superintendent, West Yorkshire Police. (West Yorkshire)

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “This year’s Honours list celebrates the very best of Britain – people who put the common good ahead of themselves to strengthen communities and change lives.

“Their quiet dedication speaks to the decent, compassionate country we are proud to be. On behalf of the whole nation, thank you – and congratulations to everyone recognised today.”

This year’s honours list includes 1,157 recipients, with 67% living outside London and the South East.

Half of all recipients at CBE level and above are women, marking the strongest representation since 2020, the Cabinet Office said.

Across the list, 10% come from ethnic minority backgrounds — including 5% Asian, 3% Black, 2% mixed and 1% other.

In addition, 5% identify as LGBTQ+, 15% report a disability or long-term health condition and 36% come from lower socio-economic backgrounds.