Tony Blair said this morning that he felt “devastated” by the death of John Prescott, his deputy when he was prime minister. And no wonder. Prescott was, he observed, the “yin to his yang ...

John Prescott was always a friend and inspiration to me. He used to phone me up after Prime Minister questions to give his verdict, and join me on campaign trips as Labour ’s deputy leader.

Former deputy prime minister John Prescott was as a political bruiser, an old-school Labour MP who could down a pint in five seconds and was no stranger to public outbursts — famously punching a ...