Nationwide boss Debbie Crosbie said she was left 'hugely proud' of her Glaswegian upbringing after being made a Dame in the King's Birthday Honours.

Crosbie, 55, who has led Britain's biggest building society since 2022, hopes it will inspire others to follow her path.

'Lots of people talk about me being a female but I think most of my peer group have come from a much higher social demographic and they tended to be educated in either Oxford or Cambridge,' she said.

'I think having that diverse social mobility as well as gender is really important.'

Crosbie, who started at Clydesdale Bank in Scotland, said: 'I am actually hugely proud. 

'I grew up in Glasgow, I wasn't different to any of my peer group, so to be given the opportunity to lead – I've had a massively rewarding career.

'As a woman, I hope that sends a message of opportunity and hope.'