FORMER Bradford Council leader Eric Pickles was dubbed 'Sir Eric' by Prince Charles during an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace today.

The Keighley-born Conservative received the honour of knighthood in recognition of his public service as an MP, a former Cabinet minister and his time in local government.

The Brentwood and Ongar MP started out in local politics in Bradford in 1979, becoming leader nine years later, and was first elected to Parliament in 1992.

Sir Eric served as Communities Secretary for the duration of the last parliament and had previously been Tory party chairman.

He lost his frontbench role following the general election last year but was appointed UK Envoy on Post-Holocaust Issues and also works as the Government's Anti-Corruption Champion.

Sir Eric said: "When you get something like this, you kind of think 'well, my mum would have been very proud', but it's a great thing to be recognised.

"My life has moved on from being a minister, I'm now involved with Holocaust remembrance and dealing with anti-corruption, so at times I wonder how I managed to find time to be a minister."