Al picked up an Honorary Master of Arts for his outstanding contribution to comedy, thanking the University for an ‘amazing honour’ and addressing graduates from the Business School.

“To be with all you graduates is the real honour and privilege for me today,” he said. “This is where we fire you out into the world.

“I wish you all the best of luck as you now aim to go out there and change the world.”

Speaking after the first of the day’s two ceremonies, Al commented on the regional, national and global outlook of the University.

“We’re a country that looks out on the world. You’ve got to be open.

“This University has an amazingly high count of foreign students, which is brilliant.

“You’ve also got all the campuses in Bedford, Aylesbury and Milton Keynes. It’s county-wide, that’s the interesting thing.”

Al, who was educated at Bedford School before graduating with an MA in Modern History from Oxford University, compared Bedfordshire’s focus on employability with that of other institutions.

“Employability is clearly a thing that really matters to people,” he said. “That’s surely a good thing.

“This place seems more about preparing students for the outside world. This is a more contemporary University.”

Honoured today to be a Master of Arts at University of Bedfordshire! pic.twitter.com/YgrAUuvm4f

— Al Murray (@almurray) November 20, 2014

Al’s award came alongside the Honorary Doctor of Arts given to David Willetts for his outstanding contribution to UK higher education, as well as the Honorary Fellowship bestowed upon Jane Creasy for her outstanding services to the University of Bedfordshire.

The afternoon ceremony also saw the graduations of students from the University’s partner institution, Oman’s Majan College.

The day brought Bedfordshire’s November 2014 graduations to a close, with over 1,100 students receiving their degrees over the past three days.