Politics & business: Carphone Warehouse founder gets the call

Carphone Warehouse founder Charles Dunstone has been knighted (PA)

A leading member of the "Chipping Norton set", which also includes David Cameron and Rebekah Brooks, is today knighted.

Charles Dunstone co-founded the Carphone Warehouse 22 years ago with £6,000 of his savings and saw it grow into one of the country's largest mobile phone retailers. Today he has an estimated personal fortune of £860m and is among Britain's richest 100 people.

Three MPs are also knighted: the Conservative Tony Baldry, who was a minister under Margaret Thatcher and John Major; former Liberal Democrat frontbencher Malcolm Bruce; and Tony Cunningham, a former Labour whip.

A knighthood also goes to the former Scottish National Party MP George Reid, who retired as the presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament in 2007.

One of the most senior officials at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), Helen Edwards, is created Companion of the Order of the Bath. Originally a social worker, she joined the Home Office in 2002. She was chief executive of the National Offender Management Service before becomming director general for criminal justice at the MoJ. The same honour is awarded to Richard Hatfield, director general, international, strategy and environment at the Department for Transport. Peter Riddell, former Times political commentator, now director of the Institute of Government, is appointed OBE.