New Year's Honours: Knighthoods for three senior MPs

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-25549714

Version 0 of 1.

Three senior backbenchers, Peter Luff, Richard Ottaway and Kevin Barron, have been given knighthoods in the New Years Honours list.

Mr Luff, defence minister between 2010 and 2012 and Mr Ottaway, Tory chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, are standing down at the next election.

Mr Barron, a Labour MP since 1983, is chair of the powerful Commons standards and privileges committee.

Two of Margaret Thatcher's long-serving aides have also been knighted.

Mark Worthington, who was Baroness Thatcher's private secretary, has been made a Knight Bachelor, as has been the former director to her private office Julian Seymour.

Both received the knighthoods for public service in recognition of their support to Lady Thatcher, following her departure from Downing Street in 1990. The former prime minister died in April.

Elsewhere, Rosemary Butler - presiding officer of the National Assembly for Wales - becomes a dame while ex-Lib Dem MEP Robert Brown, previously a deputy minister for education in Scotland, receives a CBE for political service.

Karren Brady - the vice-chair of West Ham football club who has been touted as a potential future Conservative candidate for mayor of London - is created a CBE for services to entrepreneurship and women in business.