Wetherspoon outspoken boss Tim Martin has been knighted

The businessman, who was a vocal Brexit supporter during the 2016 referendum campaign, has been recognised for his services to hospitality and culture.

He said the news of the knighthood came as a surprise.

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“It has never been expected, so it came out of the blue,” he told the PA news agency.

“I always think that, in the pub world, it is a team effort – even if you’ve just got one pub there are many people involved.”

Great British Bake Off judge Paul Hollywood, whose handshake is a highly coveted honour on the show, has been made an MBE.

While veteran broadcaster Tony Blackburn described being made an OBE as “the icing on a very lovely cake” after almost six decades in the “best job” on BBC and commercial radio stations.

Author Jilly Cooper said she was “incredibly bowled over” after being given a damehood, and author Sir Alexander McCall Smith said he feels “very touched” to be knighted in the honours list.

Sir Alexander Smith published his first work of fiction – a children’s novel – in 1976. He went on to write more children’s books, many of which are set in Africa or derived from African sources – particularly Zimbabwe, where he grew up.

Former cabinet minister Sajid Javid and former artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company Gregory Doran also received knighthoods.

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1