Mary Portas On 19 June 2009, in a ceremony at Galashiels, Heriot-Watt University awarded Portas a Doctorate of Letters in recognition of her career and her contribution to the advancement of marketing and brand communications within the retail sector In December 2009, Portas opened her first permanent 'Living & Giving Shop' in support of charity Save the Children. There are now 16 shops open across London and Edinburgh. She was also named as the charity's Global Retail Ambassador. In 2011, Portas moved from BBC to Channel 4. Her first series for the channel was "Mary Portas: Secret Shopper" which aired in January
History of Queen Mary University of London College. In 2000, the college adopted the working title of Queen Mary, University of London while retaining the legal name Queen Mary and Westfield College. In 2013 the legal name of the institution was changed to Queen Mary University of London. Queen Mary College was founded in the mid Victorian era when growing awareness of conditions in London's East End led to drives to provide facilities for local inhabitants, popularised in the 1882 novel "All Sorts of Conditions of Men – An Impossible Story" by Walter Besant, which told of how a rich and clever couple from Mayfair went to