GCHQ Scarborough 'delighted' as Alan Turing is named greatest 20th century person by BBC Icons

Alan Turing, the scientist and code breaker who helped Britain win the Second World War was named 'The Greatest Person of the 20th Century' during the final of the show on Tuesday night.

Celebrity advocate Chris Packham made a passionate speech about the life of the British mathematician who developed the idea of modern computing and artificial intelligence.

The GCHQ Scarborough site, which has a training facility named after him (the Alan Turing Training and Innovation Centre) and a museum displaying a photograph of the scientist alongside an original enigma decoding machine, is 'delighted' at Alan Turing's recognition.

A spokeswoman from GCHQ said: “We are delighted that Alan Turing was chosen by the public as the winner of Icons. His work made what was thought to be impossible possible and laid the foundations of the digital world we now live in. We continue his work today as we strive to keep the country safe.”

Turing was voted winner by the public after being up against finalists Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Ernest Shackleton, Muhammad Ali, David Bowie and Pablo Picasso.