Football great Lou Macari leads Scots recognised in King's Birthday honours
Academic leaders, business figures and volunteers also honoured
Scottish football great Lou Macari and the veteran DJ and charity campaigner George Bowie are among a host of prominent Scots recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours list.
The former Manchester United and Scotland star has been recognised for his decade-long commitment to a homeless charity in Stoke-on-Trent by being made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).
Read more In full: All the Scots recognised in King’s Birthday honours
The 77 year-old established the Macari Foundation in 2016 after recognising the scale of the housing problem in the town.
Following a playing career that peaked with spells at Celtic and Old Trafford as well as a place in Scotland's 1978 World Cup squad, Macari went on to manage Stoke over two spells and made his home in the town.
He said: “Hopefully this honour will help increase awareness because although we are still trying and having some success, none of us have found a way to get rid of the problem.”
Macari's MBE also recognises his football career, which started at Celtic before he moved to Manchester United, famously scoring the deflected goal that beat Liverpool in the 1977 FA Cup final. He also won 24 caps for Scotland.
Mr Bowie, best known for hosting the Clyde 1 Breakfast Show and the legendary dance music brand GBX Anthems, also becomes a MBE.
The 58 year-old, central figure in Scottish broadcasting for more than three decades, has been honoured for his services to radio and to charity in Glasgow and across the west of Scotland. He said he was “delighted.”
Mr Bowie has long attended charity events across Scotland without accepting any fee. He has done high-profile work with the charity, Cash For Kids, and has helped social groups receive more than £1 million in grants.
Reflecting on the MBE, he said his 88-year-old mother, Betty, was overjoyed to hear of his nomination, adding: “I can't describe what this means to her.”
Elsewhere, a surgeon who treated children injured in the Southport knife attack has said she is “humbled” to be recognised.
Vittoria Bucknall, who lives in Edinburgh, receives a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to children and young people.
The consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust played a crucial role in ensuring the survival of several children following the July 2024 attack, including the seven-year-old daughter of the person who nominated her for the honour.
“I’m absolutely humbled and overwhelmed to be receiving the medal,” she said. “It is a little surreal and I am very, very honoured.”
A professor at the University of Dundee said she is “honoured” to have been given a damehood.
Lucina Hackman, professor of forensic anthropology and head of the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification at the university, has become a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE).
Dame Lucina has been honoured for services to forensic anthropology as her work has changed the way that mass fatality events in the UK are investigated.
She said: “I am extremely honoured, and very surprised, that my work has been recognised in this way.”
Professor Sir Andrew Morris is knighted in recognition of his services to medical sciences and public health.
The University of Edinburgh academic has praised the “extraordinary strength of medical science,” and thanked his colleagues for their support.
Sir Andrew is vice-principal of data science and currently leads Health Data Research UK, a biomedical research institute.
Allison Gardner, the former chief executive officer of Glasgow Film has also been recognised.
The well-known cultural leader retired last October from her dual role as the agency’s chief executive, and director of Glasgow Film Festival.
She becomes a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for service to film and cinema in Scotland, having played a key role in bolstering the festival.
Also receiving a CBE is Elaine Lorimer, who stepped down as CEO of Revenue Scotland last autumn after nine years at the helm of the tax authority. She is recognised in the honours list for her public service.
Another CBE recipient is the composer, Patrick Doyle, who is a longtime collaborator of actor-director Kenneth Branagh.
The Scot has scored the films of many renowned directors including Robert Altman, Ang Lee, and Mike Newell, and has been nominated for two Oscars.
Meanwhile, Ian Robertson, the former Scotland rugby international, is made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to rugby union and broadcasting.
The former fly-half had a celebrated career as a BBC commentator, covering seminal moments including Scotland's 1984 and 1990 Grand Slams.
Dr Ann Matheson, formerly keeper of printed books at the National Library of Scotland, becomes a DBE, having been awarded with the Order of the British Empire in 2011.
The same honour is conferred on biostatistician, Professor Sheila Bird, who has produced crucial work around the morbidity and mortality of opioid addiction.
Another prominent business figure, British-American banking executive, Jane Fraser, is also made a DBE. The 58 year-old from St Andrews is the first woman to head a major US bank, having served as CEO of Citi since 2021.
Malcolm Burr, formerly the chief executive of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar and convener of the Electoral Management Board for Scotland, becomes an OBE in recognition of his public service.
The honours list also recognises numerous other Scots, including several who have been praised for years of charitable and voluntary service.
They include retired teacher, Mary McGregor, who has been extensively involved in youth organisations, church work and community charities across Moray and Banffshire.
She receives the BEM for services to Girlguiding and the Church of Scotland Guild, and said the honour was special because the same medal had been conferred on her grandfather, Osbert Wilson Lawrence.
“It means a lot to me that I’m getting the same award as my grandad,” Mrs McGregor said.
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