Row over New Year Honours

A mounting row is threatening to overshadow recognition of Britain's Olympic stars in the Queen's New Year Honours. There are awards for the athletes who brought home nine gold medals from Athens as well as for prominent figures from showbusiness, industry and the arts.

But honours for a number of controversial civil servants provoked a hostile response from the Tories, who accused Downing Street of rewarding failure.

Conservative co-chairman Liam Fox said: "Crime is out of control, immigration is a shambles, our railways are in a mess and the Child Support Agency is in chaos.

"And what happens? Top civil servants at the Home Office, the Strategic Rail Authority and the Child Support Agency all get gongs for their gaffes."

John Gieve, the permanent secretary at the centre of the "nannygate" affair, has been given a knighthood.

Sir John was involved in the tumultuous events at the Home Office which led to David Blunkett's resignation. Despite being cleared by Sir Alan Budd's subsequent inquiry, questions remain about the conduct of civil servants at the department.

The former head of the Strategic Rail Authority, Richard Bowker, gets a CBE. He left shortly before it was scrapped amid complaints it had failed to resolve problems on the railways.

Doug Smith is made a Companion of the Order of the Bath just weeks after quitting as chief executive of the Child Support Agency, where blunders left thousands of mothers without cash.

Theresa May, the shadow secretary of state for the family, said: "Public servants deserve to be honoured for their hard work but many taxpayers' will be disappointed to see this Labour Government rewarding failure."

A spokeswoman for the Prime Minister said the honours reflected the recipients' long and distinguished careers.

Heading the sporting honours is Kelly Holmes, winner of the 800m and 1,500m in Athens, with her DBE.

Matthew Pinsent, one of only five athletes to win gold at four successive Games, declared himself "overjoyed" at his knighthood. His fellow oarsmen in the coxless fours crew are also honoured, with an OBE for James Cracknell and MBEs for Stephen Williams and Ed Coode.

Joining Holmes as a Dame is Tanni Grey- Thompson, regarded as Britain's greatest-ever paralympic athlete. She said: "I never ever, ever dreamed I would get something like this."

There are OBEs for triple-medal cyclist Bradley Wiggins and Finn class yachtsman Ben Ainslie.

Equestrian eventer Leslie Lawand 1 km time trial cyclist Chris Hoy receive MBEs, as do the 4x100m relay team Darren Campbell, Marlon Devonish, Jason Gardener and Mark Lewis-Francis.

And the "three blondes in a boat" who won gold in sailing's Yngling class are honoured, with MBEs for Sarah Webb and Sarah Ayton, and an OBE for Shirley Robertson. Golfer Colin Montgomerie is awarded an OBE, as is Great Britain rugby league captain Andy Farrell.

Rock star Roger Daltrey and impresario Pete Waterman top the honours in pop music. Daltrey, 60, lead singer of The Who, was delighted with the CBE. "It is really great to be honoured by my country," he said.

Pop Idol judge Waterman, 57, said he was "shocked and staggered" to be awarded an OBE. "I've been doing it nearly 40 years and there's not many of us left from that era so I must be doing something right," he said. Actress Anna Massey, 67, said she was "absolutely thrilled" to receive a CBE. "We live in a country full of tradition and this is a wonderful tradition," she said.

Only Fools and Horses creator John Sullivan, 58, is awarded an OBE. He also came up with classic TV shows Citizen Smith, Dear John and Just Good Friends.

Eric Sykes, 81, a star of TV and radio for more than half a century, is awarded a CBE. Best known for TV sitcoms with Hattie Jacques, he gave an acclaimed performance alongside Nicole Kidman in the 2001 Hollywood spine-chiller The Others. Alan Whicker, 79, who invented the travel documentary, receives a CBE.

He said: "When I started Whicker's World it really was a window on the world for most people. In 1959 people didn't travel. Going to Benidorm was the height of sophistication."

Others from television honoured include sitcom star Geoffrey Palmer, given an OBE, and sports commentator Barry Davies, 65, who receives the MBE.

Author Leslie Thomas gets an OBE and there is a CBE for Quentin Blake, illustrator of children's books, in particular Roald Dahl's.

Assistant Commissioner David Veness, the Metropolitan police officer who led Britain's fight against terrorism after the September 11 attacks, is knighted, as is former chief schools inspector Mike Tomlinson, who chaired the Government inquiry on reform for education of 14-to-19-yearolds.

Additional reporting by Jason Beattie, Justin Davenport and Dominic Hayes.