Olympic champion Chris Boardman warns of ‘inactivity crisis’ in the UK

An Olympic champion warned the UK has an “inactivity crisis” arsenic helium picked up an honour from Buckingham Palace for his enactment promoting cycling and walking crossed the country.

Former nonrecreational cyclist Chris Boardman spoke aft helium was made a CBE during an investiture ceremonial connected Thursday morning.

Mr Boardman, who won golden for Great Britain successful the men’s idiosyncratic pursuit cycling astatine the 1992 Olympics successful Barcelona, present works arsenic the commissioner for the Government’s enforcement bureau Active Travel, which seeks to beforehand cycling and walking.

He told the PA quality agency: “It’s important that we recognise that it’s the instauration of a sustainable transport system.”

It comes aft caller information from Transport for London (TfL) showed that the fig of regular rhythm journeys successful the superior successful 2024 had accrued to an estimated 1.33 cardinal journeys per time — up by 26% since 2019.

Commenting connected this caller figure, the 56-year-old said: “It’s been going up and up since 2010 due to the fact that it’s conscionable an casual mode for radical to get around.

“We tin bash that for the full nation, wherever we person an inactivity crisis.

“That would truly marque a quality – and it doesn’t harm decarbonisation arsenic well.”

Sir Liam Fox, the erstwhile Conservative MP for North Somerset who besides served arsenic defence caput nether David Cameron, collected his knighthood astatine Buckingham Palace connected Thursday.

Speaking aft helium was knighted by the Princess Royal, Sir Liam, 63, said: “More than thing else, it’s truly a household day.

“It’s a large accidental for loved-ones to cheer connected the occasion.”

Sir Liam, who is simply a erstwhile GP, added: “Like galore people, my begetter has precocious Alzheimer’s and is simply a subordinate of the household who couldn’t travel today.

“And so, it is besides for each those families who are dealing with that peculiar problem.”

Sir Liam said helium was looking guardant to proceed serving arsenic a president of the UK Abraham Accords radical “working for bid and reconciliation successful the Middle East”.

“It’s not the easiest task but possibly an adjacent greater prize than today,” helium said.

Two different erstwhile Conservative ministers were besides honoured astatine the palace, including erstwhile Scotland caput Sir Alister Jack and defence caput Sir Ben Wallace.

Taban Shoresh became the archetypal Kurdish pistillate to person an OBE during the investiture ceremonial connected Thursday.

The 41-year-old assistance worker, who survived Saddam Hussein’s taste cleansing of Kurdish radical successful Iraq successful the 1980s, was awarded for her enactment with The Lotus Flower, a foundation she founded successful 2016 to enactment women and girls successful exile camps successful Kurdistan, bluish Iraq.

She said: “I arrived successful the UK astatine the property of six arsenic a exile and sought information here.

“To beryllium present present receiving an grant for helping refugees and displaced radical – it’s truly beauteous to beryllium recognised for that, and it’s a large honour.

“We proceed our charitable enactment and hopefully it volition bring much consciousness to the enactment that we do.”

And 27-year-old Kyron McMaster, a 400m hurdler from the British Virgin Islands, attended to cod his an OBE.

McMaster, who won golden successful the 400m hurdles astatine the Commonwealth Games successful 2018 and 2022, said: “It feels bully to beryllium recognised by the British Empire for my owed diligence successful the sports and the British Virgin Islands.

“I don’t instrumentality that lightly.”

He added: “I privation to execute a batch much – it’s thing I ne'er thought I would beryllium awarded but it made maine ask, what’s the adjacent level from the OBE?

“Hopefully, I tin enactment my mode up to Sir Kyron MacMaster, implicit the years.”