Queen Honors Business Leader Fighting to End Brexit Paralysis

(Bloomberg) -- Carolyn Fairbairn, who has led demands from industry for an end to the Brexit impasse paralyzing the British government, becomes a dame in honors announced to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday.

Fairbairn, director general of the Confederation of British Industry, is the most prominent name among business leaders receiving awards, alongside Allianz Global Investors GmbH senior adviser Elizabeth Corley, who also becomes a dame for her work on diversity.

In an open letter last month to the candidates seeking to replace Prime Minister Theresa May, Fairbairn said the next Conservative leader must avoid a no-deal Brexit and “restore the U.K.’s reputation as the stable and trusted country to start and grow a business.” Her award may anger anti-EU politicians who accuse her of trying to thwart Brexit.

The honors, awarded twice yearly, are bestowed in the name of the queen and recommended by a panel that considers suggestions from government departments and political parties, as well as from members of the public. Most of the awards go to those who carry out community and charity work, many with young people.

Ian Davis, chairman of Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc and former managing director of McKinsey and Co Inc., is knighted, meaning that he can use Sir before his name. Boyd Tunnock, chairman of Thomas Tunnock Ltd., makers of Scotland’s iconic caramel bars and teacakes, receives the same honor.

Olivia Colman, who won an Oscar for her role as Queen Anne in The Favourite and plays Queen Elizabeth II in the Netflix series The Crown, becomes a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, or CBE, under her real name of Sarah Sinclair. Catherine Bradley receives the same award for her service on the board of the Financial Conduct Authority.

The list throws up some surprises among the artists and musicians honored. Alongside sculptor Rachel Whiteread, author Joanna Trollope and comedian Griff Rhys Jones, there’s an award for post-punk singer Elvis Costello.

Costello, who wrote a song about dancing on Margaret Thatcher’s grave and another, Oliver’s Army, which raged against U.K. imperialism, becomes an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, or OBE.

To contact the reporter on this story: Thomas Penny in London at tpenny@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs, Andrew Atkinson

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.