Poland's president has bestowed a prestigious state honor on a conservative English philosopher who has stirred controversy at home with comments about homosexuality, Islamophobia and Jews.

President Andrzej Duda presented Roger Scruton on Tuesday with the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland.

The British government fired Scruton as head of a public housing body in April after he reportedly said that homosexuality is "not normal," called Islamophobia a "propaganda word" and saying Hungarian Jews were part of an "empire" run by billionaire George Soros.

Duda said Scruton was recognized for supporting the democratic transformation in Poland. The ceremony came as Poland celebrated the 30th anniversary of the first partly free elections in Poland after decades of communist rule.