An Olympic champion warned the UK has an “inactivity crisis” as he picked up an honour from Buckingham Palace for his work promoting cycling and walking across the country.
Former professional cyclist Chris Boardman spoke after he was made a CBE during an investiture ceremony on Thursday morning.
Mr Boardman, who won gold for Great Britain in the men’s individual pursuit cycling at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, now works as the commissioner for the Government’s executive agency Active Travel, which seeks to promote cycling and walking.
He told the PA news agency: “It’s important that we recognise that it’s the foundation of a sustainable transport system.”
It comes after new data from Transport for London (TfL) showed that the number of daily cycle journeys in the capital in 2024 had increased to an estimated 1.33 million journeys per day — up by 26% since 2019.
Commenting on this recent figure, the 56-year-old said: “It’s been going up and up since 2010 because it’s just an easy way for people to get around.
“We can do that for the whole nation, where we have an inactivity crisis.
“That would really make a difference – and it doesn’t harm decarbonisation as well.”
Sir Liam Fox, the former Conservative MP for North Somerset who also served as defence secretary under David Cameron, collected his knighthood at Buckingham Palace on Thursday.
Speaking after he was knighted by the Princess Royal, Sir Liam, 63, said: “More than anything else, it’s really a family day.
“It’s a great opportunity for loved-ones to cheer on the occasion.”
Sir Liam, who is a former GP, added: “Like many people, my father has advanced Alzheimer’s and is a member of the family who couldn’t come today.
“And so, it is also for all those families who are dealing with that particular problem.”
Sir Liam said he was looking forward to continue serving as a chairman of the UK Abraham Accords group “working for peace and reconciliation in the Middle East”.
“It’s not the easiest task but perhaps an even greater prize than today,” he said.
Two other former Conservative ministers were also honoured at the palace, including former Scotland secretary Sir Alister Jack and defence secretary Sir Ben Wallace.
Taban Shoresh became the first Kurdish woman to receive an OBE during the investiture ceremony on Thursday.
The 41-year-old aid worker, who survived Saddam Hussein’s ethnic cleansing of Kurdish people in Iraq in the 1980s, was awarded for her work with The Lotus Flower, a charity she founded in 2016 to support women and girls in refugee camps in Kurdistan, northern Iraq.
She said: “I arrived in the UK at the age of six as a refugee and sought safety here.
“To be here now receiving an award for helping refugees and displaced people – it’s really lovely to be recognised for that, and it’s a great honour.
“We continue our charitable work and hopefully it will bring more awareness to the work that we do.”
And 27-year-old Kyron McMaster, a 400m hurdler from the British Virgin Islands, attended to collect his an OBE.
McMaster, who won gold in the 400m hurdles at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and 2022, said: “It feels good to be recognised by the British Empire for my due diligence in the sports and the British Virgin Islands.
“I don’t take that lightly.”
He added: “I want to achieve a lot more – it’s something I never thought I would be awarded but it made me ask, what’s the next level from the OBE?
“Hopefully, I can work my way up to Sir Kyron MacMaster, over the years.”