SCOTS comic Armando Iannucci said his OBE for services to broadcasting will not stop him poking fun at politicians.
The 48-year-old, best known for creating cult comedy The Thick of It, said he could not help but feel slightly guilty about accepting the award.
"The honour is working with lots of performers and writers, so I did feel a bit guilty," he said.
"I just hope it's not an attempt by the Government to stop me because that's not going to happen."
Iannucci, who was born in Glasgow to a Scottish mother and Italian father, has been a constant presence in British comedy, on both sides of the camera, for more than 20 years.
He studied at Oxford University and has often said he could only have been an academic or a comedian. He worked on radio shows before television, alongside people such as Chris Morris, Stewart Lee and Steve Coogan.
He also contributed to the success of hit shows such as The Day Today and I'm Alan Partridge and his new show, Veep, saw him move into US TV.
The success of The Thick of It, which stars Peter Capaldi as foul-mouthed spin doctor Malcolm Tucker, raised his profile even higher and the success of his 2009 film In the Loop helped make his name in the US.
Iannucci said he was looking forward to picking up his honour, saying: "That will be interesting. I always find it fascinating to see things like that."
He added keeping quiet about the award had caused him at least one problem with the new series of The Thick of It when one of the writers suggested Tucker should be awarded a CBE. He said: "I had to put that to one side because they didn't know what I knew."
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