TONY Blair has been given the most prestigious knighthood in Britain by the Queen.
Her Majesty has personally made the ex-Labour PM a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter – meaning he’s now called Sir Tony.
Unlike other New Year’s gongs the appointment was made entirely by the monarch with no input from Downing Street.
Sir Tony described the title as “an immense honour” and was “deeply grateful” to the Queen, who he served as her 10th premier.
He said: “It was a great privilege to serve as prime minister and I would like to thank all those who served alongside me, in politics, public service and all parts of our society, for their dedication and commitment to our country.”
Sir Tony, 68, held office from 1997 to 2007 after winning three landslide elections and dragging Labour out of the political wilderness.
But his decision to invade Iraq in 2003 earned him an army of critics that for many is his lasting legacy.
After quitting politics the former barrister became a Middle East envoy and set up his own non-for-profit group, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.
More recently he’s repeatedly waded into the Covid debate to call for increased testing and vaccine capacity.
His appointment takes the total Knights of the Garter to 21 out of a maximum 24.
The Queen also made Camilla a Royal Lady of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.
And the first female Black Cabinet Minister Baroness Valerie Amos was made a Lady Companion.
Fellow former Labour minister Lord Frank Field is being recognised in the main list as a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour.
The 79-year-old, who revealed in October he’s terminally ill and in a hospice, described the award as a “terrific privilege”.
Ex-Conservative Ministers Robert Buckland and Caroline Dineage are also being made a Knight Commander and Dame Commander respectively.
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