Murray overlooked for British knighthood despite Wimbledon win

Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has reportedly been overlooked for a British knighthood in next week's New Year Honours list, despite becoming the first British man to win the Grand Slam tournament in 77 years.

Murray was handed an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the New Year's Honours a year ago after winning the Olympic gold medal at London 2012.

According to The Independent, although the British PM's office said that it would recommend Murray for the honour in recognition of his historic victory at the All England Club this July, the Scot has fallen foul of Honours list protocol, which states that a decent interval of time must pass between awards.

However, government officials criticised the decision - made by the sports honours committee that is chaired by the former London 2012 chairman Lord Coe, as 'stuffy', while another said that the strict rules encouraged well known people to 'game' the system by turning down lesser honours in the hope of getting 'upgraded' the next year.

Officials say that, as a general rule, MBEs are for people who have made a major contribution to their local community, OBEs are for those whose achievements are recognised nationally, while CBEs and knighthoods are for those whose performance is internationally renowned.

The New Year Honours list, which will be published next Tuesday, has been described by government officials as 'rather boring', the report added.