Policing’s unswerving devotion and response to the brutal face of terror has been royally recognised in the New Year Honours list for 2019.

Officers have been joined by other emergency services’ personnel in being honoured for their work in assisting victims and supporting families in the aftermath of the 2017 attacks in London and Manchester.

Dozens of police personnel across the four corners of the UK find themselves in the new year list for services to their calling and, in addition, a further 33 receive the Queen's Police Medal.

But it is in the arena of tackling the UK’s biggest security threat – in the form of terrorism – that has defined this year’s awards.

Commissioner Cressida Dick spoke proudly today of a “truly exceptional” year in terms of honours for 22 members of the Met Police.

She said: “The extraordinary, courageous, compassionate and professional actions of our staff and members of the public during the appalling events of the terrorist attacks of 2017 have been recognised by Her Majesty.”

One stand-out OBE recipient for services to victims of London and international terrorist atrocities is “flabbergasted” Acting Detective Sergeant Zac Idun – a former bank worker.

DS Idun did not join the service until he was 30, a quarter of a century ago. Coming from the world of business, he is now a leading policing expert in family liaison for those affected by terrorism.

He has delivered outstanding support for the families over many years and led the family liaison response following the Westminster and London Bridge terrorist attacks in 2017 and in Sousse, Tunisia in 2015.

The Met said DS Idun has “supported hundreds of people during his distinguished career, helping family liaison both nationally and internationally”.

On receiving the news in a letter, the Met officer told the BBC: "I chased after the postman and said: 'Look, you put this through my door, who's put you up to this?'”

Counter terrorism senior investigating officer Mark Gower has been awarded an OBE for services to policing, and is regarded as a subject matter expert in his field.

The Met detective superintendent led and commanded the response to the  terrorist attack at Finsbury Park on June 19 last year, where Darren Osborne deliberately drove a hire van at members of the Muslim community, killing one and seriously injuring others.

Some months later, when the terrorist attack at Parsons Green took place he led that investigation too – co-ordinating resources from across the Met in conjunction with security service partners to identify the bomber.

The Met has applauded Det Supt Gower for his “exceptional contribution and impact nationally and internationally” to counter terrorism investigations.

In 2015, he led the UK response to the terrorist attacks in Sousse, Tunisia where 30 British nationals were murdered.

He was deployed with a UK team to the “high risk, complex and politically challenging environment” and worked in partnership with Tunisian authorities and other international partners to investigate the attack and repatriate the deceased.

He worked tirelessly with bereaved families and professionally presented the case at Inquest at the Royal Courts of Justice, receiving high praise from Judge Lorraine Smith.

Another OBE was awarded to Cambridge physicist Claire Summers, who leads the Met's Technical Innovation and Development Environment team and has dedicated her life to keeping communities safe from harm and assisting in the disruption of organised criminals and terrorists in the UK and abroad.

She routinely gives up evenings and weekends to seek innovative solutions to the most complex technical challenges within counter terror and with her team has pushed the boundaries of digital forensics globally.

In the past year she has supported every major terrorist investigation in the UK including Borough Market, Finsbury Park and Westminster Bridge.

Other members of the Scotland Yard team to be named in the new year honours were PCs Andy Dunmore, John Kenealy, Stephen Marsh, Mary Mayes, Richard Moore and Jerry Pearce who received British Empire Medals for their actions during the Westminster attack; PCs Stewart Henderson and Liam Jones received BEMs for their response during the London Bridge attack; PC Nick Carlisle, who was awarded the Queen's Police Medal for distinguished services to policing during the Westminster attack; and PCs Tim Andrews, PC Sam Balfour, Lian Rae and Bartosz Tchorzewski who were also awarded the QPMs for distinguished services to policing during the London Bridge attack.

The honours spotlight also fell on the Greater Manchester force for its response to the Arena bomb attack on May 22 last year.

Preston Detective Chief Inspector Teresa Lam has received a British Empire Medal after leading a team of GMP officers to support the families of those killed during the terror attack at the Ariana Grande concert.

The force’s family liaison head, on hearing she has been awarded the honour for services to policing and the community in Manchester, said: "Receiving this recognition is a significant moment in my personal and professional life.

“I am immensely proud of my family liaison team who also worked tirelessly to provide support to those affected.”

She has maintained a relationship with many of the families affected by the bombing and created a self-support network for the families.

The 44-year-old personally facilitated access to medical care for both physically and emotionally injured people, proving an important link between the police investigation and NHS professionals.

A former Met officer, she has also supported families accessing the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund and other financial help at times when they struggled to muster the energy to access these funds.

DCI Lam is one of a quartet of Greater Manchester personnel to be recognised.

There is a BEM for Special Sergeant Jared Simpson who was one of the first GMP officers on the scene of the arena attack, and a Queen's Police Medal for Chief Inspector Dale Sexton.

Robert Gallagher, who managed GMP's forensic response to the attack including victim identification, is appointed an MBE.

NCA intelligence hub officer Gayle Houstoun, who supported the City of London Police’s Casualty Bureau in the aftermath of the Manchester bombings and the London Bridge attack, has received an MBE.

NEW YEAR’S HONOURS 2019

OBE
William Bryden – Head of Scenes of Crime, British Transport Police. For services to policing
Mark Anthony Gower – Detective Superintendent, Metropolitan Police Service. For services to policing.
Isaac Kwamina Idun – Acting Detective Sergeant, Metropolitan Police Service. For services to policing.
Umer Khan – Superintendent, Greater Manchester Police. For services to policing and community cohesion.
Adrian McAllister – Deputy Chief Constable, Lancashire Constabulary. For services to policing, Criminal Justice and Child Protection.
Louisa Helen Rolfe – Deputy Chief Constable, West Midlands Police. For services to policing.
Claire Margaret Summers – Head of technical innovation and development. Police staff, Metropolitan Police Service. For services to counter terrorism policing.

MBE
Robert Gallagher – Police Staff, forensic and digital investigations manager, North West Greater Manchester Police. For services to policing and the community in Manchester.
Richard Leon Gill – Lately Police Officer, British Transport Police. For services to policing.
Anthony Stephen Joy – Senior intelligence analyst, Metropolitan Police Service. For services to policing.
Rosemary Frances Leech– Inspector, Police Service of Northern Ireland. For services to policing and the community in Northern Ireland.
Derek Alan May – Special Chief Inspector, Kent Police. For services to policing and the community in Kent.
Rosemary Wright – Superintendent, Local Policing Development and Support, Police Scotland. For services to Mental Health Issues.

BEM
Kenneth Avery– Special Inspector, Hampshire Constabulary. For services to policing and the community in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
Lewis Thomas Brown – Police Community Support Officer, British Transport Police. For services to policing.
Andrew John Dunmore – Police Constable, Metropolitan Police Service. For services to policing.
Stewart Henderson – Police Constable, Metropolitan Police Service. For services to policing.
Elizabeth Anne Johnstone – Police volunteer, Metropolitan Police Service. For voluntary service to policing and the community in London.
Liam Jones – Police Constable, Metropolitan Police Service. For services to policing.
John Kenealy– Lately Police Constable, Metropolitan Police Service. For services to policing.
David Edward Knox–- For services to policing and the community in Northern Ireland.
Teresa Christine Lam – Family Liaison Lead, Greater Manchester Police. For services to policing and the community in Manchester.
Bernadette Lawrie (Bernadette Clark) – Police Constable, Sussex Police. For services to policing.
Stephen Norman Marsh –- Police Constable, Metropolitan Police Service. For services to policing.
Mary Mayes – Police Constable, Metropolitan Police Service. For services to policing.
Richard Philip Moore – Police Constable, Metropolitan Police Service. For services to policing.
Jon Paul Morrey – Police Community Support Officer, British Transport Police. For services to policing.
Cairn Frederick Newton-Evans – Special Chief Officer, Dyfed-Powys Police. For services to policing and the LGBT community in Wales.
Richard Paines – Constable, South Wales Police. For services to policing and the community in South Wales.
Adrian Jeremy Pearce– Lately Police Constable, Metropolitan Police Service. For services to policing.
Charles Pearson – Special Sergeant, West Mercia Constabulary. For services to policing.
Howard Rayner – Special Superintendent, Essex Police. For services to policing.
Mark Robert Renshaw– Police Constable, British Transport Police. For services to policing.
Adrian Mark Secker– Police Constable, Avon and Somerset Constabulary. For services to policing and the comhead – Volunteer, Neighbourhood Watch and Deputy Chair, Devon and Cornwall Community Watch Association. For voluntary service to policing in Devon and Cornwall.
Virginia Ann Shoesmith – Police Community Support Officer, Suffolk Constabulary. For services to policing and the community in Ipswich.
Jared Simpson – Special Sergeant, Greater Manchester Police. For services to policing.
Alan Smith – Special Sergeant, British Transport Police. For services to policing.
Laurence Anthony Unthank – Police Volunteer, Surrey Police. For voluntary service to policing.