THIS is the moment political titan John Prescott sensationally punched a protester who threw an egg at him.
Former Deputy Minister Prescott has died aged 86 after a battle of Alzheimer’s.
He had been living in a care home following a stroke in 2019 and passed away “peacefully” surrounded by family.
Prescott served as Deputy PM from 1997 to 2007 as a member of the Labour Party.
He was a key New Labour power broker who often managed the tense relationship between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
One of his most notable moments came when he punched a protester who threw an egg at him during a rally in 2001.
In full view of TV cameras, Prescott landed a jab before cops pulled them apart.
The politician later joked about the incident quipping: “There was only one punch.
“Tony Blair rang me and he said ‘Are you OK?’ and I said ‘Yes’, and he said ‘Well, what happened?’.
“I said ‘I was just carrying out your orders. You told us to connect with the electorate, so I did’.”
When Tony Blair was asked about the scuffle later that day, he replied simply: “John is John.”
Speaking on the Today programme this morning, Blair said: “In the 2001 election someone smashed an egg on his head.
“He punched the guy. This caused a huge issue and we had to give a press conference.
“Some said he was the deputy prime minister. Others said he had the egg slammed on his head, so fair enough.
“We had a long debate about it and finally when asked about it I said John is John.
“That’s as much as you can say. There were no rules he abided by. I feel a huge sense of loss.”
In a 2019 Observer interview, Prescott reflected: “When I do die, after 50 years in politics, all they will show on the news is 60 seconds of me thumping a fellow in Wales.
“I’ve only ever been in two or three fights. There’s a picture of Nelson Mandela, me and Tony at the 2000 Labour conference.
“They’re both laughing. Mandela had just asked me, “Have you hit anyone today, John?'”
BBC star Nick Robinson said: “After he punched a man on the campaign trail Tony Blair said ‘John will be John’.
“I pompously suggested he sounded like the mother of a thug outside a magistrates court but the public agreed with Blair.”
Robinson added: “They thought Prescott was what most politicians are not – human.”
In a statement announcing his death, Lord Prescott’s wife and two sons said: “We are deeply saddened to inform you that our beloved husband, father and grandfather, John Prescott, passed away peacefully yesterday at the age of 86.”
The family added: “John spent his life trying to improve the lives of others, fighting for social justice and protecting the environment.
“He did so from his time as a waiter on the cruise liners to becoming Britain’s longest serving Deputy Prime Minister.
“John dearly loved his home of Hull and representing its people in Parliament for 40 years was his greatest honour.
“We would like to thank the amazing NHS doctors and nurses who cared for him after his stroke in 2019 and the dedicated staff at the care home where he passed away after latterly living with Alzheimer’s.
“In lieu of flowers and if you wish to do so, you can donate to Alzheimer’s Research UK.”
Prescott died peacefully yesterday “surrounded by family and the jazz music of Marian Montgomery”, the family added.
Prescott was first elected MP for Kingston upon Hull East in 1970 – holding the seat for almost 40 years.
He first joined the shadow cabinet in 1983 with the transport brief, before quickly rising through Labour ranks.
As Deputy PM Prescott played a big role negotiating the 1997 Kyoto climate change agreement.
And he was widely seen as a working-class tribune who ensured Labour’s union backers went along with Blair’s centrist reforms.
Prescott was nicknamed “two Jags” after it emerged he had two official Jaguars.
In 2015, he was banned from speeding after being caught doing 60mph in a 50mph zone in one of his beloved Jags.
After spending his MP career criticising the Lords as an “offence to democracy”, he shrugged off hypocrisy claims when appointed – saying he accepted a peerage because his wife Pauline wanted him to.
After his time as Deputy PM Prescott took a short break from politics – before coming back to advise Tony Blair.
Prescott left the Lords this July after a stroke in 2019 stopped him attending or voting.
He was born in the Welsh seaside town of Prestatyn and first worked as a steward in the Merchant Navy.
Prescott then studied at Ruskin College in Oxford, before entering politics.
Starmer called Prescott a “true giant” in a heartfelt tribute this morning.
While former Prime Minister Tony Blair paid tribute to “one of the most talented people I ever encountered in politics”.
He told the Today programme: “Underneath what could be a fierce exterior, and a manner some undoubtedly found intimidating, beat a loving, kind and compassionate human heart.
“John was as good a friend as you could ever hope to have, with a deep sensitivity, even vulnerability.”
Blair described Prescott’s key power broker role in the New Labour government – as well as his colourful human side.
Speaking on the Today programme, he said: “They always thought of us as the yin and the yang.
“I had a lot of really fun times with him. He could be a very amusing guy.
“It wasn’t just a political relationship – I had profound affection for him.”
Blair added: “He was proud of his working class roots but didn’t want people to stay as they are.
“He was aligned with the aspirations of people who are working class to become better off and use their potential better.
Blair revealed he’d shared video calls with Prescott up until his last months.
He said:”Even though he was failing and very ill, he was still as lively and punchy as ever.
“He had this extraordinary instinctive sense that something was afoot.
“He’d often come in unannounced and say I know you’re up to something.
“He’d always be right, I would be up to something. If we had a difficult issue we’d talk about it.
“Once we came to a decision he came behind it. He was a vital part of keeping the whole show together.
“That was down in a large part to him and his commitment.
Blair told how Prescott often acted the part of mediator between him and Gordon Brown during their time in office together.
The former PM said: “He got on with both me and Gordon Brown because he believed it was in the interest of the Labour Party.
“He recognised Brown’s great ability. He looked at himself as a bridge and was one.
“I’ve never met anyone quite like John. I’m happy to celebrate his life and his achievements.”
JOHN Prescott, a former Cunard Line waiter who rose to be deputy Prime Minister under Tony Blair, was the last authentic voice of the working classes to serve in high office.
The MP for Hull, known as The Mouth of The Humber, spoke for the trade unions in a New Labour government which finally broke their stranglehold over economic and industrial policy.
As deputy leader of the Labour Party, he also refereed the infamous
“TeeBee-GeeBees” flare-ups between Blair and Chancellor Gordon Brown during their battle for the Labour crown.
Burly “Prezza”, a prize-winning boxer, was a bruiser both inside and outside Parliament.
In the 2001 election campaign, he was hit in the face by an egg thrown by a protestor.
Prescott, a man with a hair-trigger temper, landed a powerful left jab before police intervened.
“There was only one punch,” he explained afterwards. “Tony Blair rang and asked what happened.
“I said: ‘You told us to connect with the electorate, so I did’.”
Lord Prescott, who has died aged 86, was proud of his working-class roots and as a blunt-speaking Northerner.
But he was born in Prestatyn and regarded himself as a Welshman.
In later life he admitted carrying a chip on his shoulder after his brother Ray was rewarded with a new bike for passing his 11-plus to a grammar school.
John failed and got nothing.
What he saw as a gross injustice fuelled a lifelong resentment towards elitism – even within his own party – and an insecurity which drove him close to the top of the political greasy pole.
He was deeply hurt that in 10 years as deputy PM, he and his glamorous wife, Pauline – an Elizabeth Taylor lookalike – were never invited to dinner at Chequers, the PM’s official home.
Prescott blamed Blair’s “snobbish” wife, Cherie.
“We never got close to the Blairs,” he said. “It just didn’t happen. We were not their set. Certainly we were not her set.”
The former ship’s steward was mocked by toffee-nosed Tories such as
Nicholas Soames who greeted him in the Commons, crying: “Mine’s a gin-and-tonic, Giovanni.”
And he was teased for mangling the English language, once complaining “the sceptre of unemployment stalking the north-east”.
As Environment supremo, he boasted: “The Green Belt is a Labour
achievement – and we mean to build on it.”
But the son of a railway signaller was no fool.
He studied economics and politics at Ruskin College, Oxford, and scored a BSc degree at Hull University.
He enjoyed his success, living in a turreted mock-Tudor mansion and playing croquet on the lawns of his official home, Dorneywood.
An avowed socialist, he earned his “Two Jags” nickname by driving an XJ6 Jaguar and using a chauffeur-driven XJ8 for government business.
“My roots, my background, the way I act is working class, but it would by hypocritical to say I’m anything other than middle class now,” he admitted.
John Prescott’s remarkable political career crumbled dramatically in 2006 when his two-year love affair with bubbly secretary Tracey Temple was exposed after her jealous lover read her diary.
Tracey, who sold her story to a Sunday newspaper for £250,000, described “groping and kissing” in the Deputy PM’s office and his opulent grace-and-favour Admiralty office flat.
“We were very lucky we were never caught – as we never shut the door,” noted Tracey, played by Maxine Peake in “Confessions of a Diary Secretary”.
“When I went into his office for diary meetings, if I was wearing a skirt he would slide his hand up my leg, under it.
“He used to stroke my back. And, yes, I did give him sex in the office a
couple of times.
“I knew what we were doing was risky but we both got carried away.
“Seven civil servants worked right outside his office. Of course there were moments when I thought, I shouldn’t be doing this.
“I also thought how surprised and shocked people would be if this ever got out.”
Prezza resigned as deputy Labour leader telling the 2006 party conference: “I know I let myself down. I let you down.
“So conference, I apologise.”
Nine years later he returned to front-line politics as unpaid adviser to Ed Miliband on climate change.
Prescott suffered a stroke while campaigning for Mr Corbyn at the 2019 election and retired from politics.
PM Keir Starmer said: “I am deeply saddened to hear of the death of John Prescott.
“John was a true giant of the Labour movement. He was a staunch defender of working people and a proud trade unionist.
“During a decade as Deputy Prime Minister, he was one of the key architects of a Labour Government that transformed the lives of millions of people across the nation.
“So much of John’s work set the path for those of us fortunate enough to follow.
“From leading climate negotiations to fighting regional inequality, his legacy will live on well beyond his lifetime.
“Across the Labour Party and the union movement he will be remembered for his conviction, courage, and strength of character.
“His passion, force of personality and pride in his working-class roots was key to his authenticity – an honesty that was recognised and respected across the political divide and across the nation.
“On behalf of the Labour Party, I send my condolences to Pauline and all his family, to the city of Hull which he served as MP for forty years, and to all those who knew and loved him.
“May he rest in peace.”
Former Home Secretary Alan Johnson said Prescott was “very intelligent and dedicated”.
He added: “A lot of his work was hard slog. John’s achievements went largely under the radar.”
Veteran lobby hack Quentin Letts said: “He was, for sketch writers, our Everest, our yeti, vast-pawed and irresistibly abominable.
“Passing me in the cloisters one day he dropped a shoulder and I thought he was going to whack me. It was just a joke. I think.”
House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said: “I am saddened to hear about the death of former Deputy Prime Minister Lord John Prescott.
“A towering figure in the Labour movement and a campaigner for workers.
“He was a fearless, loyal, active unionist and a dedicated parliamentarian for 40 years, who I admired.
“My thoughts and prayers are with Pauline and his family.”
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said: “I am deeply saddened by the news of John Prescott passing away.
“My thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family.
“John Prescott will be remembered as a towering figure in British politics.
“His unwavering tenacity on the causes he championed should be a lesson to us all.
“His influence on our modern society will still be felt for years to come and his legacy remembered far into the future.”
By Jack Elsom, Chief Political Correspondent
WHEN people think of John Prescott, many will immediately recall that immortal moment in 2001 when he punched a protester in the face.
During a fraught campaign visit, a farmer had smashed an egg over his head, prompting the then-Deputy PM to catch him with a neat left jab.
When Tony Blair was asked about the scuffle later that day, he replied simply: “John is John.”
The PM was not referring to Prescott’s impressive youth boxing career, but rather his reputation as a political bruiser.
During his 40 years as a Labour MP, Prescott was a blunt instrument who was frank and direct in his manner.
He did not have the eloquence many of his political sparring partners possessed – but he was fierce in his attacks on Tory foes.
It was his connection with the working class movement that made him valuable to Blair and Gordon Brown – his backing was crucial to getting sceptics on board with New Labour’s modernisation project.
And he served as the bridge between Blair and Brown when their relationship soured in government.
He cut his teeth in the union movement working as a steward aboard cruise ships, before becoming a full time union official.
From 1970-2010, he was the MP for Kingston, including the 10 years he spent as Deputy PM between 1997-2007.
As Blair’s technical No2, he was in charge of the country when the PM holidayed in the summer.
It brought added scrutiny, especially when he was once pictures in his grace-and-favour home of Dorneywood playing croquet.
Prescott was never far from the news, particularly when it emerged that he had the use of two Jaguars – leading to his memorable nickname “Two Jags”.
His private life also became public following his two-year affair with his diary secretary, though he stayed with his loving wife Pauline until the end.
He famously said it was for Pauline that he accepted a life peerage, despite having previously campaigned to abolish the House of Lords.
But for all the circus that seemed to follow him, Blair still credits Prescott with “keeping the show on the road” during his term.
He quite possibly owes the former ship steward with serving him up 10 years in Downing Street.
