NCA officers working the fields of Investigations, Cyber Crime, Financial Intelligence and Kidnap have been officially recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
Director General Lynne Owens spoke of her delight and pride to hear that five officers have been honoured.
She said: “It’s fantastic to see officers from a wide range of NCA disciplines have been recognised. They are all passionate about the work they do, and these awards are well deserved. My sincere congratulations to them all.”
Those honoured include Rob Ormsby who was awarded an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) for services to law enforcement in the field of kidnap and extortion. He has made an exceptional contribution as one of the UK’s leading experts, saving over 100 lives in the past 15 years including British nationals taken hostage overseas.
In addition, Rob has applied his skills and experience to hundreds of operations, involving extortion and product contamination threats, preventing reputational damage to numerous global UK companies. Since his retirement as Head of Anti-Kidnap and Extortion Unit (AKEU) in 2015, Rob has volunteered as an unpaid NCA special, supporting the AKEU with specialist advice, training and research.
Keith White has received a Member of the British Empire (MBE) for services to law enforcement and tackling money laundering. Using his in depth knowledge of anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing, and law enforcement techniques, he has developed pioneering improvements to the capabilities required to meet the challenges of illicit finance.
Keith’s commitment to driving the domestic and international exchange of information has enhanced the sharing of financial intelligence with international partners, building the UK’s international reputation. He has personally identified, managed and mitigated major legal, reputational and operational risks to the public sector, private sector and to individual citizens through ensuring the effective handling of intelligence, including in threat to life situations.
Danny Bates from the National Cyber Crime Unit received the Member of the British Empire (MBE) for services to law enforcement. The officer has been responsible for ground breaking innovations in the way law enforcement tackles serious organised crime committed online as well as developing new digital capabilities – elements of which are rolling out as a national service.
An officer from the Investigations Command was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to law enforcement – investigating the highest levels of serious organised crime impacting the UK – and promoting diversity in the workplace. The officer has given an enormous amount of their own time to champion LGBT issues and other protected characteristics in the workplace. Since 2014 they led the work to ensure the NCA’s inclusion in the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index as a Top 100 Employer.
And a former officer received a Member of the British Empire (MBE) for services to international security.
Finally, Graeme Biggar, who recently joined the NCA as the Director General of the National Economic Crime Centre, has been awarded a Commander of the British Empire (CBE). This award is in recognition of his previous role as Director National Security in the Home Office, where he worked on countering terrorism and hostile state activity.
