Anger over Andy Murray’s honours snub

The decision not to award Andy Murray with a knighthood in the New Year Honours list has been branded “bewildering”.

London based civil-servants have refused to make the 26-year-old a Sir, despite the Dunblane ace becoming the first British man in 77 years to win Wimbledon.

It’s believed the reason was because not enough time had passed since Murray secured an OBE twelve months ago in recognition of his Olympic gold medal.

The SNP’s media and sports spokesman, Pete Wishart, insisted the bureaucrats had missed a trick.

He said: “Murray’s victory was, without doubt, the highlight of the sporting year.

“A knighthood would have been worthy recognition of how much it meant, not just to the people of Scotland, but across the UK.

“The fact he won the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year so overwhelmingly is testament to that.

“I know there are issues when it comes to the honours system, but you would have thought a knighthood was a certainty. It seems they have missed a trick. His fans will be bewildered.

“However, I’d think it is only a matter of time before he does become Sir.”

The snub comes despite the fact Downing Street revealed they would recommend Murray for the honour.

Decisions about the honours list are made by a series of committees, including one dedicated to sport chaired by Lord Coe.

The committee’s recommendations are considered by the main Honours Committee, overseen by Sir Bob Kerslake, Head of the Civil Service.

In October, Andy collected an OBE at Buckingham Palace from Prince William in recognition of his success at London 2012. It was thought the magnitude of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year’s Wimbledon victory would override protocol restrictions and he’d be handed a knighthood. And that like Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins, his achievement would be recognised in the year it happened. David Cameron, who saw the Wimbledon final from the Royal Box, even compared Murray’s victory to that of the cyclist.

It’s not the first time Scottish sporting achievement has been overlooked. Thousands of football fans have also launched a campaign to have footballer Denis Law knighted. The Scotland and Manchester United legend scored 237 goals for the Old Trafford side.

But despite also having a glittering international career, netting 30 times in 55 games for Scotland, and being the only Scot to be named European Footballer of the Year, Law has been snubbed by Whitehall mandarins. An online campaign calling for his achievements to be properly recognised attracted huge support.

Alex Ferguson was knighted in 1999 after leading Manchester United to a treble that included the Champions League.

However, Celtic great Jock Stein, who secured the first British victory in an earlier version of the same competition, never made it onto the prestigious list.