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Botham knighted for charity work

16/06/2007

Former England Test all-rounder Ian Botham has been knighted in the Queen's birthday honours.

The 51-year-old used his high-profile cricketing career to raise millions for charity Leukemia Research on long-distance fundraising walks and receives his knighthood for services to sport and charity.

"I'm delighted and very honoured, not just for myself but also the people who have helped me get there," he told BBC Radio Five Live.

Other sporting recipients include Manchester United footballer Ryan Giggs, who gets an OBE. Former team-mate and Premiership veteran Teddy Sheringham and female boxer Jane Couch both become an MBE.

Novelist Salman Rushdie has also been knighted. The author's The Satanic Verses book resulted in a fatwa being issued against him but today he said he was "thrilled and honoured" by the official recognition he has received.

In the diplomatic list, Soviet spy Oleg Gordievsky has been awarded a CMG for "services to the security of the United Kingdom".

The highest-ranking defector served as a double agent for British security services during the 1980s and successfully escaped after coming under suspicion from his superiors.

Meanwhile Shami Chakrabarti, director of civil liberties group Liberty, has been awarded a CBE for services to human rights.

In the world of entertainment, Dame Edna Everage creator Barry Humphries has been handed a CBE to compete with his alter ego's impressive title.

Author Barbara Taylor Bradford gets an OBE, as do Joe Cocker for services to music and Peter Sallis, the voice of Wallace in the popular animated films Wallace and Gromit.

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