TWO REMARKABLE men from the area have been nominated to receive a major new honour for their roles of being the best of British givers.

Lord Amir Bhatia from Richmond and Jason Maude from Barnes have been put forward for a Beacon Award, which is a new charitable initiative raising the profile of giving in the UK while actively acknowledging and rewarding exceptional philanthropic acts by individuals.

Mr Bhatia, an Ismaili Muslim, dedicated the last 30 years to working in the charitable sector and for social causes in the UK.

He has been involved in a wide variety of initiatives focused on ethnic minorities, which aim to bring marginalised communities into the mainstream and to champion them as a source of innovation or achievement.

Mr Maude founded the ISABEL medical charity, which operates an online paediatric clinical decision-making support system for doctors, nurses and health care workers to try to ensure that child misdiagnosis is reduced in this type of medicine.

He made this decision following the near fatal misdiagnosis of his three year old daughter’s condition and used his own money and devoted a year of his time to develop the idea.

Beacon’s chief executive, Emily Stoner, said: "The Beacon Prize is not about winners and losers, It’s about celebrating and recognising people from whom we can all learn.

"We all have something to give - each and every one of us is capable of making a difference."

The final 14 nominees were chosen for their exceptional charitable efforts and because they are an inspiration for others to give their time, money or expertise.

David Charters, chair of trustees, said: "In an age of cynicism, disengagement and increasing indifference these nominations show that many extraordinary people are working tirelessly and successfully to make a positive difference to society."