A professor at the University of East London (UEL) was presented with an OBE by Prince Charles for her services to internet safety.

Julia Davidson, a professor of criminology, received the gong at Windsor Castle on Safer Internet Day - February 8.

She had been named in the Queen's Birthday Honours list in October 2020 but the Covid pandemic caused delays to her ceremony attendance.

Prof Davidson is director of the Institute for Connected Communities at UEL.

The facility sees international research undertaken in areas such as cyber crime, online child protection and online child abuse.

Prof Davidson said: “I am delighted to have been awarded an OBE for services to internet safety. This is a great honour both for me and for the Institute for Connected Communities at UEL.

"I have worked in the child sexual abuse and exploitation area with victims/survivors, practitioners and policy makers for over 30 years.

"During that time, it has been a pleasure to work with the most dedicated group of colleagues who are without exception equally committed to child protection both online and offline and to making the internet a safer place for children and young people.”

Prof Davidson was born in Bethnal Green and is a UEL alumni having taken her first degree at the university.

Her first job was with the North East London Probation Service in the 1980s where she worked as a researcher across Newham, Redbridge, Havering and Barking and Dagenham.

Her research in the 1990s focused initially upon serious offending including child sexual abuse and has since gone on to focus more broadly on children and young people online, as well as perpetrators of cyber crime.

Prof Davidson's work helped to inform the government's Online Safety Bill and she is chair of the UK Council for Internet Safety Evidence Group.

Professor Amanda Broderick, vice-chancellor and president of UEL, said: "The award reflects her extensive expertise and personal impact in this important field.

"We are committed to pursuing research that has a meaningful impact on everyday lives - and there can be few more important areas of research than ensuring the protection of children online."