Murray and Grainger among Scots in New Years Honours list

Scotland's Olympic medal winners are among those who feature on the New Years Honours list

Olympic heroes Andy Murray and Katherine Grainger are among the Scots leading the New Years Honours list.

Actor Ewan McGregor and actress Siobhan Redmond, as well as violinist Nicola Benedetti are also to receive awards.

Prof Peter Higgs, who gave his name to the "God particle", gets the Companion of Honour for services to physics.

Other Olympians and Paralympians, Tim Baillie, Scott Brash, Sophie Hosking, Neil Fachie, Craig McLean and David Smith, are recognised with MBEs.

Katherine Grainger, who has links to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeenshire, and won a gold medal after being runner up at the previous three games, is given a CBE, for services to rowing.

She said: "Every additional honour is like winning all over again, and this one is a big one. This one is very special."

"Probably the win in London will always be special. It has been an incredible journey and that was the culmination, that was the home crowd, that was the home nation support, and that was finally the Olympic title and that is what every athlete would dearly, dearly love."

Andy Murray, from Dunblane, who took Olympic gold and won his first ever grand slam when he beat Novak Djokovic in the US Open finals, is awarded an OBE.

Edinburgh-born rower Sophie Hosking, who took gold in lightweight women's double sculls at this summer's Olympics, receives an MBE, with the same honour also going to horse rider Scott Brash from Peebles, who at 27 was the youngest member of the British gold medal winning showjumping team at the London Games.

Another Olympics star to receive an MBE is Aberdeen-born Tim Baillie, who won gold in the canoe slalom C2 event.

David Smith is receiving an MBE after he was part of the team that won the mixed coxed four event at the 2012 Paralympic Games.

Cyclist Neil Fachie, who triumphed in the 1km time trial for the blind and visually impaired, also picks up an MBE, with the same honour going to cycling pilot Craig MacLean.

Scottish knighthoods

Crieff-born Ewan McGregor receives an OBE for his services to drama and charity.

The Star Wars and Trainspotting star, who is an ambassador for Unicef, became a supporter of the charity after visiting some of its projects in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Mongolia as part of his round-the world motorcycle trip.

Siobhan Redmond also receives an MBE for services to drama. Born in Tollcross, Glasgow, she made her television debut in the early 1980s before going on to star in shows including Taggart and Holby City.

Classical violinist Nicola Benedetti receives an MBE for services to music and charity

The same honour goes to violinist Nicola Benedetti - who was born in West Kilbride and was named BBC's Young Musician of the Year in 2004 at the age of 16 - for her services to music and charity.

The 25-year-old said: "I am deeply honoured to receive an MBE. This has come as a real surprise to me and I am humbled.

"I hope this honour can help me continue to draw attention to the importance of classical music and the arts in British society."

Others who are honoured include John Leighton, the director general of the National Galleries of Scotland, who is knighted for his services to art.

Knighthoods also go to Prof Ian Diamond, the Principal and Vice Chancellor of Aberdeen University, for his services to social science and higher education and Edinburgh-born Prof Hew Strachan, the Chichele Professor of the History of War at All Souls College, Oxford.

Prof Pamela Gillies, principal and vice-chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University, is also among those honoured. She receives a CBE for services to education and public health.

Queen's Medal

Orkney jewellery designer Sheila Fleet, who set up her business almost two decades ago in 1993, is honoured with an OBE for services to the industry.

Her family-run business, Sheila Fleet Jewellery, has grown to become one of the biggest employers in the rural countryside of Orkney.

The 67-year-old said: "I was extremely surprised and delighted of course, it was very unexpected and after 44 years in the jewellery industry I'm delighted, it's the icing on the cake."

Others receiving awards in the New Years Honours list include Glasgow-based campaigner Gordon McCormack who has committed himself to developing sport for people with disabilities for more than 30 years. He is honoured with an OBE.

Ian Craig, former president of the Scottish Beekeepers Association, receives an MBE for services to Beekeeping.

A crofter from Shetland, Agnes Leask, is awarded a British Empire Medal for services to Crofting. She told BBC Scotland she hoped the honour would raise awareness and help preserve the "crofting way of life in the Highlands and Islands".

"It is something I have never looked for and never, ever expected. I hope it will be an honour for the crofting way of life," she said.

A senior police officer who played a key role in the creation of the new single police force in Scotland is amongst a host of emergency service personnel honoured with the Queen's Fire, Police and Ambulance Service Medal.

Northern Constabulary Chief Superintendent David O'Connor is being recognised for the contribution he has made to police service reform as President of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents (ASPS).