UWE Bristol has awarded an honorary degree to former Airbus chief Iain Gray in recognition of his contribution to the UK aerospace industry.

Professor Gray is currently the director of aerospace at Cranfield University — a role he took up in 2015 after seven years as chief executive of Innovate UK (formerly known as the Technology Strategy Board).

He said: “I feel very privileged to be receiving this award. I have had a long association with the university, and I am proud to be linked to it — particularly in the field of aerospace, where the university plays such a strong role developing the engineers of tomorrow in a rapidly changing world of technology.”