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More than 100 soldiers marched through the streets of Denbigh on Saturday, after being granted the freedom of the county.
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The government remains committed to bringing back weekly bin collections, the BBC understands.
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In 2007, Abdullah survived a US air strike in southern Somalia Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, suspected of having played a key role in the 1998 US embassy bombings in East Africa, has been killed in Somalia, officials say.
Unconfirmed reports say Abdullah and another man were shot dead by Somali government troops early on Wednesday at a roadblock in the capital, Mogadishu.
DNA tests are believed to be under way to confirm the dead men’s identities.
Abdullah became the most wanted man in Africa after more than 220 were killed and 5,000 hurt in the 1998 attacks.
The US FBI put a $5m bounty on his head.
Abdullah and a fellow militant were shot dead by Somali Transitional Federal Government forces at a checkpoint in Mogadishu, Somali security officials told AFP and Reuters.
“Our forces fired on two men who refused to stop at a roadblock. They tried to defend themselves when they were surrounded by our men,” TFG commander Abdikarim Yusuf told AFP.
“We took their ID documents, one of which was a foreign passport,” he said, adding that medicine, mobile phones and laptops were also found.
Somali sources told AFP that Abdullah was carrying some $40,000 in cash and a South African passport bearing the name “Daniel Robinson”.
Issued on 13 April 2009, it indicated that Abdullah had left South Africa on 19 March 2011 for Tanzania, where he was granted a visa.
Halima Aden, a senior Somali national security officer, confirmed that Abdullah was killed at a checkpoint this week, and that he had a South African passport.
Source: FBI
“After thorough investigation, we confirmed it was him, and then we buried his corpse,” he told the Reuters news agency.
One source told AFP that the incident took place at about 0200 on Wednesday (2300 GMT on Tuesday) in the Afgooye corridor, a 20km-long strip of land north-west of Mogadishu.
Photographs, published by AFP, of the face of one of the bodies bore similarities to those on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists website.
The two bodies were collected by members of the Somali National Security Agency and then given to US officials for identification, AFP said.
Kenya’s Police Commissioner, Matthew Iteere, told reporters on Saturday that he was liaising with Somali officials to get a full report.
“We have been told that there were two terrorists who were killed in Somalia on Wednesday. They were identified as Fazul Mohammed and Ali Dere. That is what we have been told by our counterparts,” he said.
The US embassy in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, said it was investigating the reports.
Born in the Comoros islands in the early 1970s, Abdullah is believed to have joined al-Qaeda in Afghanistan during the 1990s.
After the bombings of the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in 1998, which killed 224 people, the US accused him of involvement and issued a $5m reward for information leading to capture.
In 2002, Abdullah was believed to have been put in charge of al-Qaeda operations in East Africa. That year, he was blamed for the bombing of a beach resort in Kenya, which left 13 people dead, and an attempt to shoot down an Israeli passenger aircraft.
In 2007, he survived a US air strike on the southern Somali coastal village of Hayo, near the town of Ras Kamboni.
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Angelika Dries-Jenkins’s body was found in her Narberth home on Friday, 3 June A 54-year-old man will appear in court on Saturday charged with the murder of Angelika Dries-Jenkins.
John William Mason, from Pembrokeshire, will appear at Llanelli Magistrates Court.
Ms Dries-Jenkins’s body was discovered at her home in Narberth, Pembrokeshire, on Friday, 3 June, two days before she would have had her 67th birthday.
A post-mortem examination confirmed that she had died from “substantial” head injuries.
She was found by her daughter, who had made a surprise visit ahead of her mother’s birthday.
Ms Dries-Jenkins, a grandmother, lived alone at her home in Providence Hill.
Originally from Germany, she moved to Pembrokeshire 40 years ago on honeymoon and chose it as her home and a place to raise her family.
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Albertina Sisulu received an official funeral with military honours Thousands of South Africans have attended the funeral of one of the leading figures of the anti-apartheid movement, Albertina Sisulu.
In a message read to the mourners, former president Nelson Mandela paid tribute to her as “one of the greatest South Africans”.
Mrs Sisulu was active in the woman’s league of the African National Congress and was married to Walter Sisulu, who brought Nelson Mandela into the ANC.
She died last week at the age of 92.
President Jacob Zuma called her a “national heroine” who had mentored many of South Africa’s political and business leaders.
He had declared an official funeral with military honours.
Senior generals carried Mrs Sisulu’s coffin into the 40,000-seat Orlando Stadium in Soweto, the township outside Johannesburg that became synonymous with the struggle against apartheid.
Delivering the eulogy, Mr Zuma said: “An era has ended and the nation is devastated but we are proud to be associated with Mama Albertina Nontsikelelo Sisulu.
“We are laying to rest a stalwart, a mother of the nation who combined resilience and fortitude in fighting colonial oppression and apartheid with compassion for the poor and the downtrodden,” he said.
“Many of today’s senior leaders in government, politics and business matured under her guidance, care and love.”
Mr Mandela’s wife, Graca Machel, read a statement on behalf of the former president, 92, who is increasingly frail and rarely makes public appearances.
In his condolence message he called her “one of the greatest South Africans”.
Albertina kept her family together while Walter was in prison for 26 years He acknowledged that most of his generation of anti-apartheid fighters had now passed away.
“The years have taken the toll as one by one friends and comrades passed on. Every time it seems as part of oneself is being cut off,” he said. ,
“None of those cuts could have been more painful than the loss of this dear friend, you, my beloved sister.”
Mr Mandela was the best man at the wedding of Albertina and Walter Sisulu.
Mr Sisulu was later arrested and spent 25 years in prison with Mr Mandela.
While her husband was confined to jail, Mrs Sisulu found herself subject to periods of house arrest for her own activities.
She trained as a nurse but established herself as an anti-apartheid activist and was among those who in 1956 led a march of 20,000 women protesting at being forced to carry passbooks.
She was a former deputy president of the ANC Women’s League and in 1994 she took a seat in South Africa’s first democratically elected parliament.
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There will be a march past and gun salute for the Queen at Buckingham Palace The Duke of Cambridge will help the Queen celebrate her official birthday later by taking part in the Trooping the Colour parade for the first time.
The newly married Prince William will be on horseback for the annual event at Horse Guards, in central London.
The Duchess of Cambridge will go to the parade ground from Buckingham Palace in a horsedrawn carriage with Prince Harry and the Duchess of Cornwall.
The occasion comes a day after the Duke of Edinburgh marked his 90th birthday.
Prince William, dressed in the red uniform of the Irish Guards he wore on his wedding day, will participate in the parade as the regiment’s honorary colonel.
He will ride the Household Division charger Wellesley in the ceremony, which dates back to 1748.
Also riding will be the Colonel of the Welsh Guards, the Prince of Wales; Colonel of the Household Cavalry’s Blues and Royals, the Princess Royal; and Colonel of the Scots Guards, the Duke of Kent.
This year the colour, or flag, of the 1st Battalion the Scots Guards will be paraded.
After the Duchess of Cambridge’s first public engagement with her new title on Thursday – a lavish dinner with charitable giving and considerable wealth on display – this is more familiar royal territory, says BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt.
He says the duchess will watch her husband embrace yet another aspect of his destiny – a ceremonial occasion which one day, as things stand, will be held in his honour.
The duchess will later appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony with members of her new family.
There will be a march past and gun salute for the Queen, who turned 85 on 21 April, at the palace.
Some 25 aircraft will take part in the traditional RAF flypast, including the World War II Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster, modern-day Typhoon fighters, and the Red Arrows aerobatics display team.
On the Duke of Edinburgh’s 90th birthday, the Queen conferred on him the title of Lord High Admiral of the Navy.
Prince Philip hosted an event for the Royal National Institute for Deaf People at Buckingham Palace during which guests gave the duke a spontaneous rendition of Happy Birthday.
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Brian Souter’s thoughts on receiving a knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list
Transport tycoon Brian Souter has been given a knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.
The founder of Perth-based Stagecoach is being recognised for his services to transport and the voluntary sector.
Former Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini is being made a dame and Scotland’s top doctor, chief medical officer Dr Harry Burns, is being knighted.
Two Scottish-based authors, Julia Donaldson and Kate Atkinson, are also being honoured.
Brian Souter, 57, founded the Stagecoach group with his sister Ann Gloag in 1980. The firm is now one of the world’s biggest transport companies.
In 1992 he, and his wife, also set up the Souter Charitable Trust.
The long time supporter of the SNP said his knighthood would not have been achieved without the support of those who work alongside him.
He told BBC Scotland: “It hasn’t really sunk in yet but I am absolutely delighted, particularly for the team at Stagecoach.
“I started as a bus conductor when I was 18 and this was never really on my list of ambitions, if I am being honest, but it is good to be recognised.
“I was really pleased that it mentions the voluntary sector because that recognises the work of my wife who runs the Souter Charitable Trust. They really don’t seek any publicity but they do some really, really good work.”
Brian Souter established the Stagegroup group in 1980 He added: “Sir Brian doesn’t really sound right to me yet but maybe I will get used to it.”
In 2000 Mr Souter was the leader of the Keep the Clause campaign, fighting the lifting of Section 28 which banned teachers and pupils from discussing homosexuality in schools.
He is also a major financial backer of the SNP.
Elish Angiolini, 50, stepped down as Lord Advocate earlier this year. She was the first woman and first solicitor to hold the post, appointed to it in 2006.
Commenting on her damehood, she said: “This is an enormous honour and one which I could never have received without the love and support of my family, my friends and the wonderful people I have worked with over the last 28 years.”
A central theme of her time in office was the reform of rape law in Scotland.
She championed the new Sexual Offences Act and also set up the National Sex Crimes Unit to investigate and prosecute Scotland’s most serious sex offences.
Elish Angiolini, who becomes a dame, was the first woman to be Lord Advocate in Scotland Aberdeen-born racehorse trainer Henry Cecil is also being knighted.
Dr Burns, the chief medical officer for Scotland, said he and his family were delighted with his knighthood.
He added: “It is a huge honour to be chief medical officer for Scotland, I never thought I would receive any other kind of honour.”
Professor Sally Macintyre, director of the Social and Public Health Science Unit at Glasgow University is being made a dame for her services to sciences.
She said: “I’m absolutely delighted. It recognises a long body of research work and contribution to research but very much based on teamwork.”
Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson, who was named Children’s Laureate earlier this week, receives an MBE for services to literature.
“It is very nice to be recognised”
Julia Donaldson Author
She said the honour would not “change anything but it is very nice to be recognised”.
An MBE was also awarded to Edinburgh-based writer Kate Atkinson, who penned bestsellers such as Behind The Scenes At The Museum and Case Histories, which has just been televised on BBC One.
Aberdeen-born actor and writer Graeme Garden, who was in The Goodies, receives an OBE for services to light entertainment.
The chief executive of Victim Support Scotland, David McKenna, from Glasgow, receives an OBE for services to disadvantaged people.
He said: “It is a great pleasure to have received this honour which recognises the successful work of Victim Support Scotland and its staff on behalf of victims and witnesses of crime over the last 26 years.”
A host of other public service workers, professionals, volunteers and those working in the arts are also recognised in the honours list.
Among other academics are Dr John Robert Brown, chairman of the Roslin Foundation in Midlothian who is awarded an OBE for services to sciences and Professor Mona Siddiqui, director of the Centre for the Study of Islam at the University of Glasgow, who receives an OBE for services to inter-faith relations.
The deputy chief constable of Grampian Police, John McNab, receives the Queen’s Police Medal and Alasdair Hay, of Tayside and Fire Rescue receives the Queen’s Fire Service Medal.
First Minister Alex Salmond congratulated those honoured in the birthday list.
He said: “A great number of Scots have been honoured for services to our communities in areas such as medicine, the voluntary sector, business, justice, human rights and helping the most vulnerable people in our society.
“The remarkable abilities and breadth of the achievements of all of our successful nominees should be a source of pride and celebration for everyone in Scotland.”
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Mrs Palin resigned as Alaska governor midway through her first term US officials have released thousands of pages of e-mails sent by Republican politician Sarah Palin during her tenure as Alaska governor.
News organisations first requested the move in 2008, when she was chosen from relative obscurity to become the Republican vice-presidential candidate.
The documents were released on paper. News organisations have begun scrambling to process and scan them.
Mrs Palin may be considering a run for the Republican presidential nomination.
The state is releasing about 24,000 pages of e-mails from Mrs Palin’s first 21 months as governor, but authorities withheld about 2,000 pages, citing executive privilege and privacy concerns.
The treasurer of Mrs Palin’s political action committee said on Friday that the e-mails show a “very engaged Governor Sarah Palin being the CEO of her state”.
“The e-mails detail a governor hard at work,” he said.
Reporters from several news organisations arrived in the Alaskan capital of Juneau on Friday in order to sift through the documents, which are only being released in paper form, and disseminate them to the public.
News organisations were employing creative methods for reading through the heaps of paper.
By Friday afternoon, the Washington Post said it was looking for “100 organised and diligent readers” to assist reporters in scanning through the e-mails, while the New York Times was posting the e-mails on its website.
The sheer volume of requests for the documents are said to be the cause for the nearly three-year delay in their release.
Mrs Palin told Fox News on Sunday that “a lot of those e-mails obviously weren’t meant for public consumption”, adding that some might take some of the messages “out of context”.
Mrs Palin was elected governor of Alaska in 2006. Senator John McCain tapped her to run alongside him as vice-presidential candidate in the 2008 race.
She abruptly resigned as governor in July 2009, embarking on a career as a public political figure that included paid spots on Fox News Channel and a reality television programme about her family life in Alaska.
Requests have also been made to release e-mails chronicling Mrs Palin’s final 10 months in office. But officials have not yet begun reviewing those requests.
It is unclear what the documents might reveal or how relevant they might be.
Much of Mrs Palin’s background during her term as governor has already been revealed in media investigations and accounts by former staff members.
Mrs Palin has a fiercely loyal base among conservative Republicans, but she is also a divisive figure, provoking disdain from many Democrats and liberals.
She has not declared her candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination, though the field has begun to take shape. However, she recently embarked on a highly visible tour of national historic sites, news media in tow.
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The document was written by civil servants in 2006 at a time when Ed Balls was on the backbenches A document by civil servants urging spending restraint from the Labour government in 2006 is among more of Ed Balls’ leaked, private papers published by the Daily Telegraph.
The file was written when Tony Blair was PM and Mr Balls was a backbencher.
The Conservatives said the latest revelations showed Labour had taken a “reckless” approach to the economy.
Current shadow chancellor Mr Balls said whoever was using his private papers had clear political motives.
He accused them of misrepresenting the papers’ contents.
The latest document published by the Telegraph put forward ideas for savings ahead of the Comprehensive Spending Review of 2007.
It suggested that departmental spending increases above inflation ought to become the exception not the rule.
The Conservatives claim this advice was “recklessly” ignored.
But Labour says that, at the time, the Conservatives were committed to matching their spending plans and the then chancellor Gordon Brown was running a lower deficit than he had inherited.
Mr Balls has accused the Conservatives of trying to “rewrite history” and sensationalising the contents of the leaked papers.
He said: “Once again the headlines and allegations are not remotely substantiated by either the content of the documents or the reality of what happened.”
Mr Balls added: “However much the Conservative Party and their supporters sensationalise these papers, and try to rewrite history, their allegations are not borne out by reality.”
BBC political correspondent Iain Watson says the biggest issue in British politics is not simply the size of the deficit and how quickly to reduce it, but how it was caused.
Labour blames increased spending in its latter years in office on the international financial crisis, he adds.
The Conservatives aim to portray the party as inherently profligate – and therefore not to be trusted with running the economy.
Our correspondent says the latest leak is not merely of interest to political historians but plays directly into current political debate.
On Friday, the Telegraph published leaked memos detailing plans within Labour to have Gordon Brown succeed Tony Blair as prime minister from 2005.
Mr Balls hit back, saying it was “not true” to say he and Mr Brown had plotted to oust the prime minister.
The newspaper obtained more than 30 memos belonging to Mr Balls, who was one of Mr Brown’s closest advisers.
The documents are believed to have disappeared from the Department for Education – Mr Balls’ former department – during last year’s general election.
The Cabinet Office is looking into whether there were any “breaches of document security within government”.
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Councils can fine utility companies for over-running roadworks Councils in England have charged utility companies £31m in fines for over-running of roadworks over the past three years, figures show.
Figures obtained by the BBC show 33,460 sets of roadworks over-ran during that period in 143 council areas.
National Grid, at £7.1m, paid out the most in fines, while Essex County Council experienced the highest number of over-running roadworks at 3,165.
National Grid said it aimed to complete projects on time.
A spokeswoman said it was a third of the way through a 30-year programme to replace metal pipes, which was a one-off project, and it worked closely with local authorities when planning projects.
The figures, which were obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, reveal that the other companies to pay out the most in fines were EDF (£4.6m), Thames Water (£3.7m), BT (£2.4m) and Central Networks (£2.2m).
Transport for London received the most in charges at £1.6m, followed by London’s Haringey council (£1.5m), Enfield, also in London, (£1.1m) and Hertfordshire County Council (£1m).
The figures also show there is a discrepancy of £9m between what councils were invoiced for and how much companies have paid.
As well as charges that are in dispute and payments that are outstanding, this figure also includes where charges are reduced on negotiation with the company, or where companies are given a credit note.
In April, the Local Government Association claimed that botched roadworks were costing taxpayers in England and Wales £70m a year.
That sum, it said, was the bill councils were left with after contractors for utility companies failed to properly repair road surfaces they had dug up.
Workers dug two million holes last year and about 360,000 jobs were not properly completed, often leaving roads in a worse state, the LGA said. The utility industry said controls over repairs were being tightened.
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Soldiers on what it is like to kill someone at close quarters
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Will UN report on online freedom prompt rethink by governments?
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A resident of Jisr al-Shughour tells the BBC he has seen tanks firing at anything in front of them
At least 28 people have been killed in fresh clashes in Syria between security forces and protesters, activists say.
They say tanks and helicopter gunships opened fire on crowds in the northern town of Maarat al-Numan, leaving several protesters dead.
The violence came as government forces moved on the nearby town of Jisr al-Shughour where the government said 120 security personnel had been killed.
Hundreds of civilians have fled north into Turkey to escape the assault.
Opposition activists told the BBC that the army was adopting a “scorched earth policy” around Jisr al-Shughour, with helicopter gunships and tanks firing into the town as advancing troops bulldozed homes and torched crops and fields.
The Syrian government has not commented on the claim.
Anti-government activists said about 15 people died in the northern province of Idlib, most of them in in Maarat al-Numan where tanks and helicopters fired on protesters.
The Turkish Prime Minister has said he won’t close the door on the refugees from Syria and here in this town that policy is in action.
There are lots of minibuses parked in the centre of town and from time to time the Turkish army call the minibus drivers and tell them to go down to the border to pick up more refugees.
The drivers say that in the past couple of days they have moved more than 1,500 people from the border into refugee camps.
The Turkish authorities are blocking journalists’ access to the refugees and they are also playing down the number that have come over.
However, they are clearly aware of the scale of the problem. They have asked the Red Crescent to construct a new camp which could house up to 5,000 new arrivals and work on that is already under way.
Correspondents say it is the first reported use of air power to quell protests in Syria’s three-month uprising.
Syrian state TV reported that armed gangs had attacked police stations in the town.
A Syrian opposition figure told the Associated Press news agency by telephone that thousands of protesters had overwhelmed security officers and set light to a courthouse and a police station in the town.
Syria has prevented foreign journalists from entering the country, making it difficult to verify reports from there.
Another five anti-government protesters were killed in the coastal city of Latakia, according to activist sources.
Elsewhere in Syria, two people were reported killed by security forces in Busra al-Harir, southern Deraa province, and another four in the Qaboun district of the capital, Damascus.
Since March, mass protests against the rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have become a regular event following Friday prayers.
Human rights groups say more than 1,300 people have died as the government tries to suppress dissent, most of them unarmed civilians. The government refutes the figures and says about 500 security forces have died.
With the unrest showing no sign of abating, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called for immediate access to those affected by the violence and those arrested or detained.
The town of Jisr al-Shughour was said to be all but deserted as troops moved in on Friday. Witnesses reported explosions coming from near the town.
The crackdown had been long expected. The Syrian government blamed armed groups for the deaths of 120 security personnel in the town earlier in the week, although there were reports of a mutiny among security forces.
Syrian state TV said armed gangs had prepared defences and set fire to crops and trees around Jisr al-Shughour in order to slow the army’s advance.
State TV has been broadcasting images of what it says are soldiers and police shot dead in the town.
The government says local residents requested the army’s intervention to restore peace and quiet.
Turkey – which shares a long border with northern Syria – says more than 2,000 Syrians have crossed over, seeking refuge from the expected retaliation on Jisr al-Shughour. The city has a population of about 50,000. It is not clear how many other residents have fled to other locations within Syria.
Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has previously been reluctant to criticise Syria, but in an interview quoted by Anatolia news agency, he said the Assad regime was committing “atrocities” against anti-government demonstrators.
“They are not acting in a humane manner. This is savagery,” he said in a TV interview on Thursday.
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Brooke Kinsella has campaigned against knife crime since her teenage brother was killed An ex-EastEnders actress turned anti-crime activist and the head of a sweet firm are among those in England named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
Brooke Kinsella, 27, who set up a trust after her brother was stabbed to death in north London, has been made an MBE.
John Winnard, of Wigan’s William Santus & Co, has become an MBE for services to confectionery.
Veteran dinner lady Patricia Gilman, 65, is among hundreds of people honoured for serving their communities.
At total of 965 people were named in the honours list, of whom more than 70% were “local heroes” who have carried out unsung work for their communities.
Ms Kinsella set up the Ben Kinsella Trust in her brother’s memory after the 16-year-old was killed in June 2008.
She has been appointed a government adviser and in February published a report on tackling knife crime where she said “the key word is prevention, not cure”.
Meanwhile, Mr Winnard, joint managing director of the firm which has been making Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls for 113 years, said: “It’s great to be recognised.”
Ms Gilman, who has worked at the Kenmore Park First School in Harrow, north-west London, for 31 years, was also appointed MBE.
The school’s head teacher Rutinder Mahil-Pooni said: “She does this because of her commitment to the children – she loves the children.”
Patricia Gilman was appointed MBE A former soldier from Staffordshire who has lost most of his sight to diabetes is among those honoured for charity work.
David Stuttard, 65, of Biddulph, Stoke-on-Trent, has used skills learnt in the Royal Engineers to improve water sanitation in Ghana to stop people losing their sight as a result of water-borne parasites.
Mr Stuttart’s organisation MyUbique has helped about 50,000 people access clean drinking water.
“When I think of all those people having access to clean water, and that it came about by me losing my sight, it’s quite amazing,” he said.
“When I told my family about the MBE they were absolutely elated.”
A nurse who took over the running of a charity when its founder died suddenly in 1993 is also among those appointed MBE.
Elizabeth White, from Gloucester, took over the Cloud 9 charity, which organises fundraising activities to take ill and disabled children on holidays.
Oxford University professor Jeremy Thomas, who helped reintroduce a butterfly which had become extinct in Britain, has also been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
Champion trainer Henry Cecil has been made a knight Prof Thomas, who lives near Blandford Forum, Dorset, was appointed OBE for services to science after leading a research project which resulted in the reintroduction of the maculinea (large blue) butterfly.
And Joe Henson, who founded the Warwickshire-based Rare Breeds Survival Trust to conserve Britain’s native farm livestock, has been appointed MBE.
The chief executive of an environmental regeneration charity is among those to receive a knighthood. Anthony Gerard Hawkhead, from Solihull, has been recognised for his work with the charity Groundwork, which runs thousands of projects each year.
Henry Cecil, 68, from Newmarket, Suffolk, one of the country’s most successful racehorse trainers, has been knighted for more than 40 years of service to the sport.
Three of those involved in England’s Ashes triumph in Australia in the winter are also among people in the world of sport to be honoured.
Skipper Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower are made OBEs and Alastair Cook an MBE.
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Sir Chris famously estimated that there were 15,000 incompetent teachers A former Ofsted head, a universities’ leader and a super-head are among those working in education rewarded in the Queen’s birthday honours.
Outspoken former Ofsted chief inspector Sir Chris Woodhead is knighted, along with Universities UK chief Professor Sir Steve Smith.
Super-head Dr Reena Keeble from a school in Harrow is made a Dame.
And dinner lady Pat Gilman, who has worked in the same infant school for 31 years, becomes an MBE.
Mrs Mahil Pooni, head teacher of Kenmore Park Infant and Nursery School where Mrs Gilman serves lunches, said she showed a lot of warmth to the young children and gave them plenty of time to finish their meals.
“I clearly did steer the ship in extremely difficult times”
Sir Steve Smith President of UUK
“She’s such a modest person she’s totally embarrassed by the whole thing.
“It just these sort of people that you want to be recognised,” she added.
Responding to the news of his knighthood, Sir Steve said he felt “humbled” and “honoured” by the recognition.
He told the BBC News website he felt he was being rewarded for his work on social mobility for the previous Labour prime minister Gordon Brown.
But he would not be drawn on whether his efforts to bring the higher education sector safely through the government’s controversial reforms, including allowing universities to treble tuition fees, was also being marked.
Professor Smith steered the higher education sector through the tuition fees debate He said: “I clearly did steer the ship in extremely difficult times.
“A lot of people may not be pleased to see that someone who was president of Universities UK during this period has got this.
“My job was to get resources into the higher education sector.
“We were going to get 70% funding cuts and my job was to steer a course that’s more progressive and I truly believe that it is.
“I didn’t do all that work on social mobility to help introduce a system that’s going to put people off.”
Former Ofsted chief inspector Sir Chris was also knighted.
Sir Chris became a high-profile figure during his time at the inspectorate – a tenure that was, at times, fraught with controversy.
His abrasive style angered many schools and sparked fierce clashes with teaching unions.
Mrs Laher who was made an OBE On one occasion he famously asserted that there were 15,000 incompetent teachers working in the profession.
Sir Chris resigned in 2000, after six years in the post, going on to advise former Tory leader Michael Howard, and working as a columnist and author.
He is now a Professor of Education at the private Buckingham University, and chairman of Cognita – a company running a group of private schools.
But the former teacher has not stayed out of the limelight, often making his views on the current state of the UK’s education known.
Dame Dr Reena Keeble, head teacher at Cannon Lane Infants School, in Harrow, for the past 18 years, was recognised for her efforts in helping schools turn themselves around.
She said: “I’ve been working very closely with another local school since January, as well as running my own school. I have also helped well over 20 schools either working with them closely or influencing them.”
She also mentors future leaders and says that her reward is working with the children: “The children who have left still come back and see me.”
Barbara Rogers, head teacher of St Patrick’s Roman Catholic High School and Arts College in Salford, is appointed a CBE for services to local and national education.
She said the award was as much a reflection of her hard work as it was that of the people she worked with.
Mrs Rogers has helped improve a number of schools in her locality And she thought she had been recognised for efforts in improving her own school.
She added: “As a school a few years ago we were underperforming in a significant number of areas. Now we are outstanding in every Ofsted category.”
But she also felt the recognition had come because of her work, along with others, to help improve the education in 10 to 15 secondary schools in her local area.
She said: “I feel very privileged to do my job. That’s why to get this award will be such a surprise to my family and friends.”
Hawa Bibi Laher, head teacher of Spring Grove Infants, Junior and Nursery in School Kirklees said she was made an OBE for work in education.
She said she thought she had been recognised for being the first Asian Muslim head teacher in Kirklees.
She said there was a large percentage of Pakistani, black and shared heritage pupils in the school where she has worked since 1997.
She added that she felt she had been a good role model for children of ethnic minority backgrounds and had helped to educate their parents and members of the wider community too.
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