Civil servants behind some of the year’s biggest controversies have been “rewarded for failure” in the Queen’s New Year honours, critics said, despite Theresa May’s insistence that the system will be reformed.

Mark Lowcock, the Permanent Secretary at the Department for International Development, is knighted despite repeated controversies over the allocation of £12 billion per year in foreign aid.

Others who have been honoured include senior staff at HM Revenue and Customs, which has driven taxpayers to distraction with its poor service; the boss of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and senior staff at the Border Force.