Latest news with #KingCoronation
The Independent
a day ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Former Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt becomes a dame
A former Cabinet minister who played a prominent role during the King's coronation becomes a dame in Charles' Birthday Honours. Penny Mordaunt said it was 'lovely to be appreciated in this way' and she was 'feeling very grateful'. Her profile was boosted by her sword-carrying role as Lord President of the Council during the 2023 coronation ceremony. Dressed in a custom-made teal outfit with matching cape, and headband with gold feather embroidery, as Lord President of the Council she was responsible for bearing the Sword of State and presenting the Jewelled Sword of Offering to the King, the first time the duty had been carried out by a woman. Dame Penny told the PA news agency: 'It is lovely to be appreciated in this way, and I'm very conscious that everything I have ever got done has been with the help and efforts of others. 'So I'm feeling very grateful on many counts today.' The former defence secretary and Commons leader was widely seen as a potential Tory leader until she lost her seat at last year's general election. In Westminster she had twice challenged for the Conservative leadership, losing to Liz Truss and then pulling out of the race against Rishi Sunak, but her hopes of making it third time lucky were dashed when she lost her Portsmouth North seat. But she still harbours hopes of staging a political comeback by returning to the Commons. Sir Mark Tami, who has served as a Labour whip since 2010, has also been awarded a knighthood. The MP for Alyn and Deeside told the PA news agency that it is a 'great, great honour'. 'When I was told I was shocked,' he said. 'I think most people probably are. It's a great great honour and I'm very very pleased.' Meanwhile, Newcastle MP Chi Onwurah becomes a dame, and told PA she was 'totally overwhelmed and surprised' when she found out. 'I grew up on a council estate in Newcastle in a one-parent family,' Dame Chi said. 'I never thought about being made a dame, as you can imagine.' She said she would be 'really proud' to accept it 'on behalf of my constituents'. Other Westminster figures given honours include Sir Philip Barton, the former top civil servant at the Foreign Office, who becomes a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George. He was heavily criticised for failing to return from holiday while Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in 2021, as MPs on the Foreign Affairs Committee said they had lost confidence in him and suggested he should consider his position. But he remained in post as permanent under-secretary at the Foreign Office until standing down in January this year. Former Conservative health minister Maria Caulfield becomes a CBE and said she was 'really surprised'. She told the PA news agency that she has returned to work as a nurse since losing her Lewes seat at last year's general election, and 'when I read the letter I couldn't have been more surprised'. She added: 'It's nearly a year since the general election so I'd kind of forgotten really about politics and that side of things.' She said that she was 'really lucky' to have been able to focus on women's health during her time as a minister and was now doing 'gynae cancer research […] doing the hands-on work rather than the policy work'. Among the changes brought in while Ms Caulfield was in office was the introduction of the baby-loss certificate and the HRT prescription prepayment certificate. 'It's really nice to see that's being recognised and the team that helped us achieve all of that are to thank for a lot of that hard work,' she said
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Reform councillor elected in party's May landslide revealed as former policeman who was sacked for calling in sick then taking boat trip to Spain
A newly elected Reform UK councillor who promised to serve with 'honour, integrity and transparency' was sacked from a police force last year after calling in sick – so he could take a boat trip to Spain, it has been revealed. Andrew Hamilton-Gray was one of a tide of 677 Reform councillors elected in around 1,750 seats at local authority polls in England earlier this month. But it has emerged the new Leicestershire county councillor was sacked from the local police force in January 2024 after he was found to have breached professional standards on 'honesty and integrity, discreditable conduct, orders and instructions, and duties and responsibilities'. In a message to constituents in Loughborough North West earlier this month, Hamilton-Gray said he had spent most of his life 'serving the Crown' and stood 'ready to do my duty once more'. But a Leicestershire Police misconduct hearing was told last year how Mr Gray, then known as PC Andrew Gray, took a trip to Barcelona in 2023 in connection with his classic car sales business, despite being refused leave. The officer had been given permission to run the business in his own time. The disciplinary hearing was told PC Gray tried to book leave for the trip to deliver a car between Saturday, April 29, and Wednesday, May 3. But leave was not granted for the final two days of the trip as there was a ban on time off leading up to the King's Coronation on Saturday, May 6, the hearing report stated. Nonetheless, PC Gray booked a return ferry trip from Portsmouth which took him out of the country between Thursday, April 27, and May 3, and called in sick on the day of the outward crossing, the BBC revealed. While abroad, he texted a colleague to say he would be back on Monday, May 1, in time for his shift, the hearing was told. But the force ruled that was 'untrue and intended to mislead', and said there was no evidence that the then PC had attempted to travel home that day. The misconduct hearing found that was one of two occasions when he reported sick to pursue his outside business interests. A panel were told how he later produced a sicknote excusing him from work for all of June 2023. But on June 8, two police officers stopped PC Gray in the passenger seat of a vintage red Porsche. The panel heard that he was giving a potential buyer a test drive while he was signed off sick. Leicestershire Police said this implied PC Gray was 'carrying out (his) business interest while absent through sickness'. Chief Constable Robert Nixon ruled the behaviour amounted to gross misconduct. Mr Gray, now 47, was dismissed from the force without notice. The chief constable said Gray must have known his leave was rejected when he booked his travel, and his dishonesty was intended to 'facilitate his trip' to Barcelona. He described the officer's conduct as 'deliberate' and 'planned' deception. 'Misconduct of this nature undermines discipline and good order within the police service and is likely to undermine confidence in policing,' he said. 'While this misconduct was confined to a single episode within a long and distinguished police career, it is with a heavy heart, having considered the full circumstances of the case and the guidance, I find the appropriate outcome in this case is dismissal without notice.' Mr Hamilton-Gray was placed on the College of Policing's barred list following his dismissal from the force. Hamilton-Gray's page on LinkedIn advertised a consultancy advising 'high-end dealerships in the luxury car market'. It said he has over 13 years of experience in the industry, with expertise in marketing brands such as Ferrari, Maserati, Porsche, Lamborghini, Bentley and McLaren. The page has now been deleted. He is listed as a registered director of two Loughborough-based car sales companies, Speedster Cars Ltd and Savitar Holdings Ltd, plus a consultancy business based in the town. The website boasts of being a family-run company which is 'proud of what we do and how we go about it'. Hamilton-Gray resigned as a director of another car firm, Hamilton Grays Ltd, in December 2017. The newly elected councillor told voters he stood ready to 'do my duty once more' Mr Hamilton-Gray's LinkedIn profile boasted of his years of experience dealing in prestige marques such as Ferrari and Lamborghini It is understood that he was in the car business prior to becoming a police officer. Mr Hamilton-Gray was elected to represent Loughborough North West with 40 per cent of the vote, beating Labour into second place. Mr Hamilton-Gray told MailOnline he had been advised by the party not to comment. Reform UK was approached for comment. Earlier this month, the party was forced to clarify that it would continue to fly county standards from council buildings following a row over the flying of the Leicestershire flag. The party's chairman Zia Yusuf had earlier announced that 'Reform-controlled English councils will move at speed to resolve that the only flags permitted to be flown on or in its buildings will be the Union Jack and St George's flag'. Conservative MP for Hinckley and Bosworth, Dr Luke Evans, asked whether it meant 'Leicestershire County Council would not be able to fly the Leicestershire county flag', which features symbols including a running fox and a red and white zigzag motif derived from the arms of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester. The Tories lost control of Leicestershire County Council at the local elections, with Reform now the largest party but falling short of an overall majority. But the party took control of ten local authorities in England, including Lancashire, Durham and Staffordshire.
