White was made an MBE in the birthday honours list of Queen Elizabeth II, and officially received his award at Windsor Castle.

He was presented with the accolade by the Princess Royal, the only daughter of the Queen and an International Olympic Committee member.

His MBE is for services to sport and in particular his work towards improving diversity.

"It was a tremendous honour and moment of pride for me to receive this honour, and especially nice to receive the award from the Princess Royal who I know quite well from my time working with the British Olympic Association (BOA)," White said.

"Receiving the MBE in the Queen's honours list is great, but it means nothing if I cannot use it to help others. 

"I have not forgotten my own struggles, my roots, where I have come from, and hopefully I will remain grounded and have empathy for others who are on their own sports journey.

"Let's not forget that many people around the world cannot access sport because of any number of barriers including race, religion, language, gender, disability, economic and lack of investment in facilities. 

"I should also add that these barriers are not exclusive to third world countries. 

"There are many marginalised communities even within developed countries.

"These issues concern me a lot and I want everybody to have the opportunities that sport has given to me."

White is a former Olympic judoka who competed for Britain at Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992.

He was chairman of the British Judo Association from 2001 to 2012 and was a Board member at the BOA.

A former sports director at the European Judo Union, White now serves as chair of the charity Sporting Equals, as well as vice-chairman of the Sport Integrity Global Alliance.