A mum who has campaigned for racial harmony in the name of her son is among many Merseyside names to be recognised in the New Year's Honours list.
Gee Walker has devoted her life to promoting racial harmony and building a legacy of love to overcome hate, after she forgave her son’s killers. Anthony Walker's brutal and racist murder in 2005 shocked the nation.
The 18-year-old aspiring lawyer was chased from a bus stop in Huyton and killed with an ice pick in an unprovoked attack. His mum Gee refused to let her life, and Anthony’s memory, be consumed by bitterness and bravely chose to forgive his killers.
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Gee said: "I forgive them. I don’t hate them. Hate is what killed my son. I am in enough pain. Why take on and carry about hate and anger as well?”
Her actions in the following 16 years have been just as powerful as her words. She founded the Anthony Walker Foundation in 2006 to combat racism and offer a space for people to feel safe after suffering racial abuse.
Gee has now been awarded an MBE for her work. Speaking to the ECHO, Gee said she was honoured with the award and it is all in Anthony's name.
She said: "I like what we're doing [...] and letting people know we are battling on. I call them my camaraderie, we always spend time together and it is a family affair. I can't do it by myself, so together we are making this happen.
"The accolades we receive are for all of us on behalf of Anthony."
In the last five years, the Foundation has worked with nearly 40,000 young people through educational and outreach programmes in schools. Its victim support services have also helped nearly 10,000 people who have experienced hate crime while volunteers have engaged with thousands in a bid to build safer, stronger communities.
Gee said: "As for the accolade, it's very appreciated. But I don't know how to articulate this but it's difficult to claim it because I am doing this for my boy and for him because I am his mother, I know what he would be doing."
She added: "[Anthony] is behind me and drives me to do what he would be and should be doing but can't." The mum said she is "very grateful" to the person who nominated her and thanked them on behalf of Anthony also.
Another person who has also been recognised on the list is Marie McCourt. Marie's 22-year-old daughter Helen vanished on her way home from work in St Helens in 1988.
Pub landlord Ian Simms was jailed for life a year later and being found guilty of murder after overwhelming DNA evidence. Simms, who died this year, maintained his innocence and despite Marie's appeals he never revealed how or where he disposed of Helen's body.
Marie has campaigned for decades and it has led to the Prisoners (Disclosure of Information About Victims) Act, which was known as Helen's Law, being enacted in 2021. It places a legal duty on parole judges to consider non-disclosure of information on murderers and paedophiles, with the Ministry of Justice saying these types of criminals "should expect to face longer behind bars".
The full list of MBEs is as follows:
Saleem Fazal. Real Estate Disputes partner and Head of Taylor Wessing's Liverpool Office. For services to Inclusion in the Property Industry (Liverpool, Merseyside).
Nigel Goodband. Detective Sergeant, British Transport Police and Chair, British Transport Police Federation. For services to Policing. (Formby, Merseyside).
Lance Owen Grundy. Prison Work Coach, Department for Work and Pensions. For Public Service. (Liverpool, Merseyside).
Carol Ann Hamlett. Director, Transforming Choice. For services to Vulnerable People. (Widnes, Cheshire).
Gillian Rosalind Jones. Lately His Majesty's Inspector and Deputy Director of Schools and Early Years, Ofsted. For services to Education. (Wirral, Merseyside).
Marie McCourt. Campaigner for Helen's Law and Support After Murder and Manslaughter Merseyside. For services to Families of the Victims of Unlawful Killing. (Wigan, Greater Manchester).
Susan Elizabeth Murphy. Mayor, St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council. For Political and Public Service. (Garswood, Merseyside).
June Simm. Chair of Governors, Emmaus Church of England and Catholic Primary School, Liverpool, Merseyside. For services to Education. (Liverpool, Merseyside).
Dr Verona Gee Walker. Founder and Patron, The Anthony Walker Foundation. For services to Diversity and Racial Injustice. (Liverpool, Merseyside).
Pauline Weatherall. Digital Atlas Manager, National Oceanography Centre. For services to Bathymetry. (Liverpool, Merseyside).
The full list of OBEs:
Elaine Margaret Clarke. Founder, Baa Bar, Liverpool. For services to Hospitality. (Liverpool, Merseyside).
Susan Julie Higginson. Principal and Chief Executive, Wirral Metropolitan College, Birkenhead, Merseyside. For services to Further Education. (Prenton, Merseyside).
Robert O'Connor. Deputy Director, Disability Services, Department for Work and Pensions. For Public Service. (Bootle, Merseyside).
Sara Louise Gilroy Williams. Chief Executive, Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce and Industry Limited. For services to the community in Staffordshire. (Liverpool, Merseyside).
The full list of BEMs:
Jane Eleanor Culkin. Customer Compliance Group, HM Revenue and Customs. For services to Autism and Neurodiversity Awareness. (Liverpool, Merseyside).
Vernon Rudolph Davis. Coach, Bridgefield Swimming Club. For services to Swimming in Liverpool. (Liverpool, Merseyside).
John Dennett. President, Italy Star Association. For voluntary service to Veterans. (Wallasey, Merseyside).
Linda Doyle. Coordinator, Summer Play Scheme at SMARTYS. For services to Children. (Liverpool, Merseyside).
Toni Hanlon-Crown. Work Group Leader, Child Maintenance Group, Department for Work and Pensions. For services to the community in Merseyside and to the Covid-19 Response. (Wirral, Merseyside).
Sandra Roscoe. For voluntary and charitable services to the community in Rainhill and St Helens, Merseyside during Covid-19. (Prescot, Merseyside).
Teresa Josephine Smith. For services to Thalidomide Patients and Research in Merseyside. (Southport, Merseyside).
Diplomatic Service - Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE):
Professor Nigel Andrew Cunliffe. Professor of Medical Microbiology, University of Liverpool and Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust. For services to Infectious Disease and Vaccine research. (Merseyside).
Home Office - King's Police Medal (KPM)
Paul Anthony Costello. Sergeant, Merseyside Police. (Merseyside).
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