Navin Shah was made the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by His Majesty the King Charles during an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday 14th March.
Navin received the CBE award for his ‘Public and Political Service’ spanning over 45 years. Navin was accompanied for this prestigious ceremony at the Palace by his wife Cllr Rekha Shah, son Neil Shah and granddaughter Amari Shah-Levy. The rest of the family members, daughter Cllr Aneka Shah-Levy and son-in-law Daniel Levy joined Navin after the ceremony to celebrate.
Commenting on this honour Navin Shah said, “What an honour to receive to have received the beautiful badge of CBE from HM King Charles. What an occasion too that I was in the company of Sir Brian May the ‘Queen Rocker’ who received his knighthood from the King. I dedicate this recognition to our wonderful culturally and religiously diverse community. I’ve also been fortunate to have received the support of my family during the ups and down for all these years. The most excited and animated member of my family was my seven-year-old granddaughter Amari who was beaming with happiness and pride – what an exceptional experience and education for her. She was thrilled to see the King but a bit disappointed that she couldn’t shake his hand!’
“Starting from the mid-'70s I have immensely enjoyed my voluntary community work. Community cohesion has always been close to my heart and has been my lifetime obsession! It’s been a true privilege to work with and on behalf of Londoners and in particular my residents and stakeholders in Brent and Harrow. Throughout my public service as an elected member of Harrow Council for 20 years and as London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow, I’ve strived to make a positive and meaningful contribution to shape and support communities. I see the award of CBE as a success of my endeavours over the last 45 years and a tribute to communities and voluntary organisations I’ve worked with. The award is also a mark of success in reaching out to communities and stakeholders, working in the spirit of partnership to promote social justice, combat racism and discrimination in all forms, support the deprived and to protect and enhance the environment.
“Currently I’m working on a number of campaigns which reflect a continuation of my passion to serve the community and make a difference. My five key campaigns relate to accessibility; disabled people; equality; fire safety in homes and planning & the environment. My campaign-related voluntary work includes projects such as step-free access at train stations; emergency evacuation amenities for disabled people; mandatory sprinklers in homes; promoting equality / social justice through work with community & faith organisations and evaluating planning and environmental issues such as high-rise development in outer London areas.’
“I’m very grateful for the honour today by the HM the King and will do my best to live up to the privilege and the recognition bestowed on me.”
