TONY Blair’s constituency aide was presented with his MBE today – and joked with Prince Charles that he had really been Sedgefield’s MP all those years.

John Burton worked tirelessly as the former prime minister’s agent, helping Mr Blair juggle his job as an MP with the demands of running the country from No. 10.

Today (Friday, May 17), it was turn of the man-behind-the-scenes to grab his moment in the limelight, as he was honoured at Buckingham Palace by the next king.

A delighted Mr Burton, from Trimdon, said: “The ceremony went very well. Prince Charles was lovely – and quite well informed about me.

“He asked me if I still saw Tony and I said ‘yes, I went around to his house in London last night’.

“Then I explained it was my job to look after Sedgefield for Tony, so that meant I was really the MP while Tony was the prime minister. Prince Charles laughed at that.”

Mr Burton also told Prince Charles he was involved in youth work, prompting the future king – who set up the Prince’s Trust, for young people – to say: “Ah, we’re in that together!”

But the church warden, who lost Lily, his wife of 48 years, when she died in November 2011, said it had also been a bittersweet occasion.

He added: “All the time I was doing my work, Lily was involved with me, so I was also sad that she couldn’t be with me. Really, the MBE was for her as well.”

Tonight, Mr Blair gave his own tribute, saying: “"John truly deserves this honour.

“He has done the North-East proud and made a real difference to the lives of so many people. It is a privilege to call him my friend.”

So how was the former prime minister, when the pair met again on Thursday night? Mr Burton said: “He feels he could be doing more in politics.

“He’s not going to make a comeback, but he is prepared to use his services to advise his party how to do things. That would be invaluable, with all his experience.”