New Year honour for Margaret Beckett starts row over why she can't be given Freedom of Derby derbytelegraph.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from derbytelegraph.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Christmas came early for Boherbue native Seán Daly who has been bestowed with the prestigious Freedom of the City of London at a special ceremony at the city’s Guildhall in recognition of his success as a businessman. The Honorary Freedom is the highest honour the City of London can bestow and is one of the oldest surviving traditional ceremonies still in existence. Paying tribute to individuals for their outstanding contribution to London in business, sport or public life, Seán joins the illustrious ranks of Honorary Freemen, who include Lord Nelson, The Duke of Wellington, David Livingston, William Gladstone, Florence Nightingale, Winston Churchill, Queen Elizabeth II, Terry Wogan, Bob Geldoff and Ed Sheerin, among others. Joined by family and friends to celebrate the occasion, the acknowledgement is one of London’s ancient traditions, with the Freedom first presented in 1237. “It is a big honour, your name is up there with a number of celebrity figures, it was a prou