The position was conferred at the meeting of Full Council on Tuesday 8 July, 2025. John is Chief Executive Officer of Kingston Race and Equalities Council (KREC), an organisation he has worked at since it was created in 1990.
Promoting equalities, protecting rights, providing justice and preventing discrimination have been at the heart of John’s work for decades. Alongside his work championing social justice, he was also instrumental in setting up Kingston Carnival, which has now become one of the highlights in the borough’s cultural calendar.
His appointment as an Honorary Freeman of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is in recognition of his dedication and the impact his work has had on the borough and its communities.
He was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2007 Honours list for services to policing, community and race relations in London.
In July 2019 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate and a Fellowship at Kingston University for Community Engagement, Inclusion and Cohesion in the Royal Borough of Kingston and Race Equality, Human Rights and Community Relations in the UK.
The status of Honorary Freeman of the Royal Borough is the highest honour that the Council can itself bestow.