ANDY MURRAY rounds off a golden year as he receives a knighthood in the New Year’s honours list, which also recognises sporting stars Katherine Grainger and Gordon Reid.

The accolade tops off a special 12 months for the Scot which saw him win a second Wimbledon title, retain his Olympic crown and named BBC Sports Personality of the Year for the third time.

The tennis player, who also became a father in February, finished the season as world number one.

Murray, who is a Unicef UK ambassador, receives the knighthood for services to tennis and charity.

There is also recognition for other Scottish sporting stars, with rower Dr Grainger being made a Dame.

She is Britain’s most decorated female Olympic athlete after winning Olympic silver at Rio 2016 and gold at London 2012, adding to her silver medals from Sydney in 2000, Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008.

She also has six world championships titles in her collection.

The rower, who was born in Glasgow and has a PhD in the sentencing of homicide, receives a DBE for services to sport and charity.

Wheelchair tennis star Reid receives an MBE for services to the sport.

He ended 2016 as world number one following a year which saw him win grand slam singles titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and doubles titles at the French Open and Wimbledon.

At the Paralympics in Rio, he took singles gold and a silver medal in the doubles.

Jo Butterfield, who won gold in the F51 club throw final at the Paralympics in Rio, receives an MBE for services to field athletics.

Scots from a range of fields are also honoured, with the list including academics, business people, a lollipop lady and a glass blower.

Joshua Littlejohn, co-founder of Social Bite, receives an MBE for services to social enterprise and entrepreneurship in Scotland.

Social Bite cafes allow customers to “pay forward” coffee or a meal for the homeless and about a quarter of its staff are formerly homeless.

It has drawn support from movie star Leonardo DiCaprio, who stopped for lunch at Social Bite venture Home in Edinburgh’s west end last month, while Hollywood star George Clooney visited Social Bite’s Rose Street branch in the city a year earlier.

John Park Campbell, chairman of Glenrath Farms Ltd in the Borders, receives a knighthood for services to farming and charitable service to entrepreneurship.

Former Lord Advocate the Rt Hon Frank Mulholland QC receives a CBE for services to law in Scotland while a CBE also goes to Professor Susan Deacon.

Prof Deacon, assistant principal of the University of Edinburgh and the first female chair of the Institute of Directors in Scotland, receives the honour for services to business, education and public service.

Michael Cavanagh, who was chairman of Commonwealth Games Scotland (CGS) and represented CGS on the Glasgow 2014 board, receives an OBE for services to sport and the Commonwealth Games movement.

Meanwhile, Surjit Singh Chowdhary, vice-president of the Central Gurdwara Singh Sabha in Glasgow, receives an MBE for services to the Sikh community and charity.

The list also includes a British Empire Medal (BEM) for Rhona Ritchie, who has been a lollipop lady for more than 40 years.

Mrs Ritchie, lollipop lady at Pumpherston and Uphall Station Primary School in West Lothian, receives the honour for services to education.

One of the oldest recipients, 94-year-old Janet Gillespie, receives a BEM for her charitable service, having spent more than 60 years volunteering for Poppy Scotland, beginning with selling poppies in 1952 and only retiring last year.

David Mundell, Secretary of State for Scotland, said: “Scotland’s honours recipients are superb ambassadors for Scotland. They truly deserve their recognition today and I congratulate each and every one of them.

“The length and breadth of Scotland, an army of volunteers show unstinting dedication, commitment and compassion, week in week out. It is right that we mark that dedication and selflessness.”

 

‘Down-to-earth’ rower Katherine Grainger praised after being made Dame

By Laura Paterson and Ben Philip, Press Association 

The parents of Olympic gold medal-winning rower Katherine Grainger said they doubt their “down-to-earth” daughter will want to be called Dame Katherine despite being given the title in the New Year honours list.

Ms Grainger became the most-decorated female British Olympic athlete ever on winning silver at Rio.

She narrowly missed out on gold in the women’s double sculls with Vicky Thornley, having returned to the sport less than two years previously after completing a PhD.

The Glasgow-born Olympian now has five medals, including gold from London 2012 and silver from each Olympics dating back to Sydney 2000.

She has been made a Dame for services to sport and charity.

Speaking from their home in Edinburgh, her mother Liz Grainger said: “She is very down to earth and modest, so I doubt she will want to be called Dame Katherine or whatever.

“We always said to her that if there was to be anything in the honours list not to tell us in advance, to tell us at Christmas then we wouldn’t be tempted to tell people or anything.

“So, in fact she waited until we had the whole family together and then told us, so we haven’t known for terribly long but it was very exciting.”

She added: “She has battled down barriers for most of her career, which I think is what is being acknowledged now that she was in so many firsts.

“First world champion back to back, first under 25s, first everything like that. I think she is leaving women’s rowing in a very strong position.”

Mrs Grainger said her daughter would “like to give something back to sport”, adding: “I think she feels that she’s been very lucky and she would like to pay back to some extent.”

She said her daughter is due to arrive in Edinburgh on Friday night and the family plans to celebrate with “lots and lots of Champagne”.

She added: “This has been the first Christmas for about 20 years that she hasn’t spent part of Christmas Day even doing some training, so retirement is a bit strange for her, I think.”

Her husband, Peter Grainger, said the family was proud of their daughter’s rowing achievements and her “significant contributions” to charity work.

He said: “She has seen women’s rowing hugely develop in her time.

“She was in the first women’s boat that got an Olympic medal and now it’s how many medals is the women’s squad going to get, so I think she’s very pleased with that development but obviously wants it to go further.”

MBE the ‘icing on the cake’, wheelchair tennis star Gordon Reid says

By Lucinda Cameron, Press Association 

 

Wheelchair tennis star Gordon Reid has said his MBE is the “icing on the cake” to a wonderful year.

The 25-year-old receives the honour for services to wheelchair tennis.

It rounds off a year which saw him win grand slam singles titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and doubles titles at the French Open and Wimbledon.

At the Paralympics in Rio, he took singles gold and a silver medal in the doubles, and ended 2016 as world number one.

Commenting on his MBE, he said: “It’s a great honour for me, it’s been a fantastic year for me, the best year of my career, so to finish it off like this is like the icing on the cake.

“The year started amazingly for me in Australia with my first grand slam title there and to go on to Wimbledon and win the singles and doubles, and then to finish it off in Rio with the gold and silver medals, there’s a lot of things there that I didn’t expect would happen this year and I think receiving my MBE is on that list as well, but it’s been amazing and I’ve loved every minute.”

Reid, from Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute, discovered wheelchair tennis after developing rare neurological condition transverse myelitis, which affects the spinal cord, at the age of 12.

He started playing wheelchair tennis in 2005 and became Britain’s youngest men’s singles national champion in 2007 at the age of 15 and the youngest British men’s No.1 shortly before his 18th birthday.

He hopes his MBE might help boost the profile of his sport.

“There’s a lot of things which have happened in my career this year which have helped the profile of wheelchair tennis and that’s really exciting for me that I can get our sport out in the public eye a little bit more, so hopefully me being included on the list will help that further,” Reid said.