Denham (pictured) received the honour for services to protecting information. A Canadian, she was appointed to the role of information commissioner in July 2016, following six years as information and privacy commissioner for British Columbia.

The ICO had a particularly busy year in 2018, dealing with the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May. The regulator also continued its investigation into the use of data analytics for political purposes, much of which focused on the Cambridge Analytica and Facebook data scandal.

In November, Denham called for the introduction of a statutory code of practice for how personal data is used in political campaigns and elections.

Denham said: "I am privileged to be recognised with this distinguished award for my career’s work in the fields of data privacy and information rights. 

"My hope is that this honour will assist in drawing attention to the importance of data protection to citizens, particularly this year, which has seen major reforms in data protection law with the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation – reforms to keep pace with changes in our digital age."

Elsewhere in the Honours list, Jayne-Anne Gadhia, formerly chief executive of Virgin Money, is to become a dame for her contribution to financial services and women in the finance industry.