“Of course there will be people who object to it strongly but that is to be expected,” said Sir Tony.

“It didn’t surprise me, and the best thing is just to accept that of course there will be people who strongly oppose it, and detest me for various reasons. This is just what happens in politics.”

Sir Tony joins his successor, Sir Keir Starmer, in accepting a knighthood but choosing not to use the honorific.

He said that the title “feels more right now than it would in previous years”, after it was reported that his honour had been blocked by the Queen.

It has also been speculated that the decision to knight him will allow his successors Gordon Brown, Theresa May and David Cameron to receive honours too.

Sir Philip May, Lady May’s husband, was knighted in 2020 and she uses the courtesy title she was granted by marriage.

The former Labour leader, who now runs his own institute, said he would not comment on whether Boris Johnson should resign in the wake of reports of parties held in Number 10 during Britain’s coronavirus lockdown.

He added that he would not accept a peerage because he does not have the time to “put the commitment into the House of Lords”.