A well deserved honour...

...HM the Queen has appointed Professor Jack Scarisbrick an MBE. This is a well-deserved honour, and a tribute to his magnificent work in defending human life, establishing the Zoe's Place Hospice, and much more...and a distinguished career as an historian making a superb contribution to the study of the Tudor period and to the religious history of our country.

Jack and Nuala established the LIFE Movement years and years ago...and it was reading one of their booklets that helped me to understand deeply just why abortion was so wrong, and how important it was to prevent it. Over the years, I heard Jack speak on this and related subjects, always with clarity and wisdom, always in a way that made his hearers understand and grasp the issues involved.Then, more recently, he was one of the lecturers when I was studying for my BA, and I realised what a superb historian he was...it was a privilege to be one of his students and he held us spellbound. He was by then Professory Emeritus at Warwick University, and author of a number of books - his work has meant that superficial assessments of the Tudor period have had to be re-evaluated, and old cliches challenged.

All this - plus a geniality and (rare thing) a genuine humility. His many friends will be thrilled that his contribution to our country has been recognised.