New Year Honours for Corbett, Bonham Carter and golf champions

Veteran entertainer Ronnie Corbett and golf champions Darren Clarke and Rory McIlroy have all been recognised on the New Year Honours list.

Corbett, 81, famed for his monologues on the BBC's Two Ronnies, becomes a CBE for services to entertainment.

An OBE goes to Open winner Clarke while McIlroy, 22, the youngest US Open winner for 88 years, becomes an MBE.

Actress Helena Bonham Carter is made a CBE and broadcaster Lorraine Kelly is appointed an OBE for her charity work.

Sky News war correspondent Alex Crawford, 49, praised for her reporting from Libya this year, is appointed an OBE for services to broadcast journalism.

Ms Crawford, the first reporter to report live from Green Square as rebel forces took over Tripoli, said she was "staggered and honoured" to hear of her OBE and had wondered if it was a prank by a mischievous colleague.

Apple's Jonathan Ive, the designer behind the iPod and iPhone, is made a Knight Commander (KBE). Now living in the US, the east London-born 44-year-old began working for the company in 1992 and is named on the diplomatic and overseas list.

He said: "I am keenly aware that I benefit from a wonderful tradition in the UK of designing and making.

"To be recognised with this honour is absolutely thrilling and I am both humbled and sincerely grateful."

The Cabinet Office said 70% of the 984 people on the main list had been selected for their "outstanding work" in communities in either a voluntary or paid capacity.

Awards for unsung heroes include an MBE for Kirsty Ashton, 21, from Greater Manchester, who has raised over £87,000 for the Wish Upon a Star charity which supports terminally-ill children.

The same honour goes to stonemason Alan Horsfield for services to St Paul's Cathedral, Mary Watt for services to Highland dance teaching in Ross-shire and caretaker Robert Owen for services to the community in Holyhead.

Nineteen members of Foreign Office staff have been honoured for their work helping Britons overseas during the Arab Spring, the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the earthquake in New Zealand. There are also honorary awards for several local employees.

Edinburgh-born Corbett, known for his diminutive 5ft 1ins (1.52m) stature, was part of one of TV's most successful sketch shows the Two Ronnies, which saw him pair up with Ronnie Barker for 17 years. He picked up an OBE in 1978.

His wife, Anne Hart, said the comic's family was "delighted".

The two Northern Ireland golfers also welcomed their honours.

Clarke, 43, who clinched the Open for his maiden Major championship title with a three-shot victory, said: "It is a great honour and a fantastic way to end a great year. I am very proud for me and my family."

McIlroy won the US Open in June by eight shots with a record low score of 16-under-par 268. He had suffered a demoralising collapse in the previous Major, the US Masters, when he carried a four-stroke lead into the final round but shot 80 to finish tied 15th.

He said: "Many people on the honours list have made huge personal sacrifices and contributed significantly to society during their lives. I feel very fortunate to be in their company."

Bonham Carter, 45, who played the Queen Mother in the King's Speech, said she was "thrilled" with her honour for services to drama, and would accept it in memory of her late father, Raymond.

"I always thought my father deserved a medal for facing 25 years of chronic disability with quiet daily heroism so I am delighted to accept such a wonderful honour in his memory," she said.

Kelly, who presents Lorraine on ITV, said she was "thrilled and deeply honoured" after becoming an OBE for services to charity and the armed forces.

The Scottish presenter has long supported the armed forces and this year launched UK Armed Forces Day in Edinburgh.

She said: "I consider myself very lucky to be able to help some amazing charities who really make a difference, but I am only a very, very small part of what they achieve."

In education, Sylvia Morris who turned the Cathedral School of St Saviour and St Mary Overy in Southwark, south London, from failure to outstanding success in just five years, becomes a dame. There is an MBE for dinner lady Jeanette Orrey, who inspired celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's campaign for healthier school meals through her own work at St Peter's Primary School in East Bridgford near Nottingham.

A pioneer in the field of obesity and diabetes research is given a knighthood. Professor Stephen Bloom, from Imperial College London, is described as an "outstanding clinical academic" who has transformed how obesity is understood.

Det Ch Insp Caroline Goode, who led Scotland Yard's investigation into a 2006 "honour killing" receives the Queen's Police Medal.

Influential figures in political life on the list include Lord Carlile, 63, the former independent reviewer of anti-terror laws who is made a CBE for services to national security while Labour MP Joan Ruddock becomes a dame.

In business, the chief executive of drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline Andrew Witty, and the former chairman of Tesco, David Reid, are both knighted.

Gerald Ronson, 72, who brought self-service petrol stations to Britain in the 1960s, gets a CBE for services to charity.

He was convicted in 1990 over his involvement in the Guinness share-trading scandal and served six months of a one-year jail sentence, before bouncing back to become a property tycoon.

There is an OBE for Christopher Preddie, a former drug dealer who turned his life around and led a community campaign against knife and gun crime. He is a cousin of the two youths convicted of killing schoolboy Damilola Taylor. Mr Preddie says he "never knew" the duo but the father of their 10-year-old victim has objected to the honour.

Australian-born Clive James, appointed a CBE for services to literature and media, is a published poet, novelist and author of a string of best-selling memoirs.

Others in literature on the list include Booker Prize-winning author Penelope Lively, 78, who is made a dame. She has written more than 50 books for children and adults, including Moon Tiger. Geoffrey Hill, 79, who was appointed Oxford professor of poetry in 2010, is knighted for services to literature.

Among the other new sirs are Picasso biographer and historian John Richardson, who is recognised for services to art, and conductor Antonio Pappano, music director at the Royal Opera House.

Labour have criticised the decision to give a knighthood to a Conservative party donor, Paul Ruddock.

The BBC's Gary O'Donoghue says Mr Ruddock is chief executive of a hedge-fund which effectively gambled on the decline of the value of Northern Rock bank. The Labour party says "hard pressed families" will not understand why he is being rewarded.

The Cabinet Office says Mr Ruddock, who is also chairman of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, is being honoured for money he has donated to charity and that all honours are approved by an independent committee.

In the fashion world, the couple behind Links of London, John and Annoushka Aytona, are made MBEs, along with with Lulu Kennedy, founder of the Fashion East venture which aims to nurture new talent. Polish-born Barbara Hulanicki, who founded influential clothing store Biba in the 1960s, becomes an OBE for services to fashion.

An OBE goes to It's a Knockout host Stuart Hall, 82, for services to broadcasting and charity. He still entertains football fans with his match reports for BBC Radio 5 live.

Peter Bazalgette, 58, of Endemol, who brought Big Brother to the UK and was behind hit shows Ready Steady Cook, and Ground Force, gets a knighthood for services to broadcasting.

There is a CBE for Steve Lillywhite, the record producer who worked with some of the biggest names in rock music, including U2 and the Rolling Stones.

Other sporting honours include a CBE for the chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board Giles Clarke and an OBE for services to cricket and charity for retired international umpire Harold "Dickie" Bird. Aston Villa chairman Doug Ellis is knighted for charitable services.

Formula 1 engineer Adrian Newey, chief technical officer at the Red Bull team of world champion Sebastian Vettel, becomes an OBE. Former F1 champion Nigel Mansell - now president of charity UK Youth - gets a CBE for services to children and young people in recognition of his recent work.

Scotland's most-capped rugby player Chris Paterson receives an MBE, a week after announcing his retirement. The same honour goes to Wales veteran Martyn Williams.

Ahead of the Olympics and Paralympics, there are knighthoods for Charles Allen, who has supported the Games in a number of roles and John Armitt, Chair of the Olympic Delivery Authority.