When Ryan Riley opened a letter from the Cabinet Office last month, his elation about being awarded a British Empire Medal in the King’s new year honours list was tempered by the instruction not to tell anyone.
“That was the hardest part,” says Ryan. The one person he couldn’t keep it from though was his father, Shaun. “I told him ‘this crazy thing has happened…’ He said, ‘it’s about time.’ Dad is my biggest fan, but I only believed it was happening when they invited me to the Cabinet office and for a private tour of Downing Street on 29 December.”
