Johnston Press chief executive Tim Bowdler has been presented with his CBE by the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

The newspaper boss received the honour for services to the newspaper industry after being nominated for the medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honours last year.

He attended the ceremony with his wife Margaretha and their two daughters, Emma and Anna.

As he was presented with his award, Tim chatted with the Queen about newspapers and Johnston Press’s acquisition of The Scotsman.

He said: “I told her we intended to make it an even better paper and she was delighted.

“It was a very special day. The Queen is brilliant. There were 91 awards but she said a few words to everybody.”

Tim said he was flattered to receive the CBE.

He said: “It is a reflection on a huge number of people’s efforts.

“I received the award for services to the industry and a huge number of people at Johnston Press have worked incredibly hard and well to achieve its growth.”

He said the award also recognised the efforts of the industry as a whole to make sure that the industry prospered.

Tim was appointed chief executive of Johnston Press in 1997, having joined the group in 1994 as group managing director designate.

The group publishes around 300 titles including the Yorkshire Post, Blackpool Gazette, Sheffield Star and Portsmouth News, and Tim has overseen a number of acquisitions including the takeover of Score Press, Local Press Limited, The Leinster Leader Limited and Scotsman Publications.

He had spent the early part of his career in the manufacturing sector, graduating as an engineer from Birmingham University and picking up an MBA from London Business School.

He trained as a production engineer, progressing through a series of managerial appointments in commercial and marketing roles, and worked for Cape plc as divisional managing director of its building and architectural product companies.

He is also a former president of the Newspaper Society and is chairman of the Press Standards Board of Finance.