Afternoon summary
Keir Starmer has condemned Kemi Badenoch for breaking what he said had been a cross-party consensus on reducing carbon emissions. (See 11.27am.)
Matt Hancock, the former health secretary, has told the Covid inquiry that England’s hospitals were within “hours” of running out of some items of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the early months of the pandemic. (See 5.08pm.)
Updated
This is what PA Media has filed from the Covid inquiry hearing this afternoon.
England’s hospitals were within “hours” of running out of some items of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the early months of Covid, Matt Hancock has said.
The former health secretary told the Covid inquiry some PPE was in very short supply during the first wave of the pandemic.
He also said he believes vaccines should be mandatory for NHS and social care staff in any future pandemic, while masks should be worn in hospitals from day one.
Lead counsel to the inquiry, Jacqueline Carey KC, asked Hancock: “Do you accept that entering the coronavirus pandemic as we did, without a single gown, severely hampered the ability to provide safe and appropriate PPE for healthcare workers?”
Hancock replied: “The stockpile that we had was not as good as it needs to be in the future, absolutely.”
Asked if England ever ran out of PPE, he said: “As a whole? No, but individual locations did.
“We came extremely close. We came within small numbers of items on a regular basis during April and May 2020 – by the second wave, we were in better shape.”
Asked about no more stock of gowns in April 2020, he said: “Gowns I think at one point we got to within six or seven hours of running out.
“We were working incredibly hard to make sure that we didn’t (run out). We nearly did.”
On the question of whether facemasks should be worn by hospital staff, visitors and workers in a future pandemic, he said: “It should be brought in immediately, and supplies need to be ready, preferably in each hospital, to make that possible.”
Furthermore, Hancock said, ensuring health and social care workers are fully vaccinated is a “reasonable step that should be expected” and should be brought in to the NHS and social care at the same time.
Vaccination as a condition of deployment came into effect in November 2021 and required Care Quality Commission-registered care home staff to be fully vaccinated in order to be deployed in care homes unless medically exempt from April 2022.
Hancock said he regretted that decision as social care and the NHS should have had the rule at the same time, adding: “If you are employed to care for others, then you should take reasonable steps to ensure you are not harming those in your care.
“A clinically proven vaccine is a reasonable step that should be expected.”
King pays tribute to John Prescott, saying he remembers 'with great fondness his unique and indomitable character'
King Charles has paid tribute to John Prescott. It is unusual for the monarch to issue a statement after the death of a politician, and this is a sign quite what an impact Prescott made during his long career. The king said:
I am deeply saddened to learn of the death of Lord Prescott. I remember with great fondness his unique and indomitable character, as well as his infectious sense of humour.
My thoughts and greatest sympathy are with Lord Prescott’s wife, family and loved ones at such a difficult time, and I am sure that very many people will recognise and greatly appreciate Lord Prescott’s decades of public service in front line politics, not least as the United Kingdom’s longest serving deputy prime minister.
Here is our obituary of John Prescott by Stephen Bates.
Swinney says he does not want Stephen Flynn 'double jobbing' row to become distraction for SNP
The ongoing row about the prospect of SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn “double jobbing” risks becoming a distraction for the party, first minister John Swinney has warned.
Flynn has faced a furious backlash amongst MSPs after he announced that he was planning to stand for the Holyrood seat of Aberdeen South and North Kincardine, currently held by his SNP colleague Audrey Nicoll, in the 2026 Holyrood elections. Flynn also confirmed he would aim to hold his Westminster seat until the next general election, due in 2029, but would not accept two salaries.
The SNP has previously been highly critical of previous Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross for holding seats in both parliaments, and Flynn’s colleagues are privately angry at the implication that a Holyrood position does not amount to a full-time job, as well as what many see as the high-handed way he’s attempting to oust a respected female colleague.
Asked about the escalating conflict after FMQs, Swinney said that Flynn was a “great star” but added:
What I want to make sure is that the SNP is in no way distracted by internal issues. It’s been a mantra of mine that I want us to look outwards not inwards.
At the last Scottish parliament election, the SNP’s national executive committee made a ruling that any MP standing for Holyrood would have to resign their Westminster seat. The NEC has until next spring to decide its candidates’ rules, so this row could go on and on.
Pluralism campaigner Neal Lawson avoids expulson from Labour after 17-month probe into tweet backing tactical voting
Neal Lawson, a prominent Labour activist, has been told that he won’t be expelled from the party over a tweet that backed tactical voting.
Lawson is director of Compass, a leftwing group that campaigns for more pluralism in progressive politics. He has been cleared by Labour after a 17-month investigation into something he retweeted in May 2021, from the Lib Dem MP Layla Moran urging people to vote Green in a council ward where the Lib Dems weren’t standing. Moran said pointed out that she had only won her parliamentary seat in 2017 as a result of the Greens standing aside.
In a comment Lawson described this as “proper grown up progressive politics” from both Moran and the Greens. But Labour launched an investigation on the basis that he may have broken rules saying members should not support rival parties.
The decision to launch disciplinary action against Lawson was seen by many in the party as an example of excessive control freakery. Even Keir Starmer was said to be surprised by the move. Under Starmer many leftwing Corbynites have been ruthlessly thrown out of the party, or blocked from standing as candidates, but Lawson is not part of that faction.
At the time Lawson wrote an article for the Guardian saying he hoped “Labour’s persecutors and witchfinders” would fail and that “pluralism, that ugly but powerful word, is the force that will shape anything that is progressive”.
Today, in a news release, Compass said Lawson has been told he did not break party rules. The organisation said:
Compass has long argued for tactical voting, closer cooperation between progressive parties and for a voting system that better reflects the latent progressive majority in this country.
At the last election, Labour showed it also recognised the importance of tactical campaigning by ruthlessly targeting its resources in seats it could win and actively discouraging campaigning elsewhere. Thus they were inviting voters to do exactly what Mr Lawson was advocating - supporting the best placed progressive to win.
A Compass spokesperson said:
We welcome this decision and hope Labour can begin to recognise what Compass has been arguing for years: that no single faction or party can navigate the chaos of the 21st century alone.
Labour must be an open tribe if it has any chance of tackling the turbulent challenges of the 21st century - if it fails, the far right is waiting in the wings.
Supporters of assisted dying should abandon vote next week, and push for government review instead, Ed Balls suggests
Supporters of assisted dying should give up trying to get Kim Leadbeater’s private member’s bill through the Commons, and instead get the government to commission a proper review into how legislation should work, Ed Balls, the former Labour cabinet minister has suggested.
Speaking on his Political Currency podcast, Balls said legislation this significant should be introduced by the government, following proper consultation.
MPs are due to vote on the bill at second reading a week tomorrow. Increasingly it looks as if the Commons will vote against. Even if it passes, experts say it will never become law unless ministers allocate extra time for it – which so far they have declined to promise.
Explaining his stance, Balls said:
I would vote against this bill if I was in parliament now at the second reading, but not because I’m opposed to action on assisted dying at all.
But I don’t think parliament can cross the massive threshold of conceding the principle that it is acceptable for doctors and the courts to cooperate in the taking of somebody’s life – unless you are absolutely sure you know how it will work in practice, legally, and in terms of resources and in terms of the difficult cases. And I just don’t feel that that’s where we are. There isn’t yet enough solidity, and the government has to kind of engage in this more.
What should happen is after the opening speeches, there should be a statement in the house or publicly or from Downing Street to say ‘We think Kim Leadbeater has done a brilliant job of raising this issue, we don’t think yet we’ve got to a place where we can see a way forward. What the government is now going to do is start some kind of review process.’
Could be a Royal Commission, could be judge-led, it could be a small panel expert-led to report with a fixed date, next year.
At that point, Kim Leadbeater says, ‘Look, you know, I’ve got as far as I can with this bill.’ She withdraws, the bill drops, the private members bill. We have that process, and then we come back, if it can be made to work with government legislation next year. That is the best way, and I think it may be the only way.
George Osborne, who co-hosts the podcast with Balls, said that he was now in favour of assisted dying, having been opposed in the past, but that he also did not think Leadbeater bill would become law.
Minister says leasehold reform will take longer than expected because 'serious flaws' in Michael Gove's bill need to be fixed
The government has indicated that its proposed new law “to bring the feudal leasehold system to an end” will take longer than expected.
The last government proposed leasehold reform, but it was accused of watering down its original plans and, by the time the election was called, its leasehold and freehold reform bill had not cleared parliament. A very basic version was rushed through parliament just before the dissolution.
In the king’s speech the government promised to publish a new, more extensive draft leasehold and commonhold reform bill that would implement Law Commission reform proposals that had been dropped by the Tories. The government said it wanted “to bring the feudal leasehold system to an end, reinvigorating commonhold through a comprehensive new legal framework and banning the sale of new leasehold flats so commonhold becomes the default tenure.”
But today, in a written ministerial statement, Matthew Pennycook, the housing minister said the draft bill is not expected to be published until the second half of 2025.
He said the process was more complicated than expected because he had been told that the Tory act, which was pushed through parliament by Michael Gove, contained “a small number of specific but serious flaws” that would have to be fixed by primary legislation.
Pennycook went on:
These serious flaws include a loophole which mean the act goes far beyond the intended reforms to valuation and that undermines the integrity of the amended scheme. In addition we must correct an omission that would deny tens of thousands of shared ownership leaseholders the right to extend their lease with their direct landlord given that the providers in question do not have sufficiently long leases to grant 990-year extensions.
This government will not make the same mistakes as the last when it comes to reforming what is, without question, an incredibly complicated area of property law. While we intend to continue to work at pace, we will take the time necessary to ensure the reforms we pass are fit for purpose.
Pennycook also said a white paper on commonhold reform would be published early next year.
In Birmingham, MP Jess Phillips and former West Midlands mayor Andy Street are among those who have gathered to pay tribute to the victims of the 1974 pub bombings in the city, on the 50th anniversary of the atrocity in which 21 were killed and 220 injured.
Survivors and families of the victims have today renewed their calls for a public inquiry into why no one has been brought to justice for the attacks, with Street saying he “deeply regrets that the previous government didn’t get to award it”. He told the BBC:
Twenty-one people lost their lives and we still to this day do not know exactly what happened and who the perpetrators were. One of the principles of British justice is that you should get to a closure. You might now not be able to hold those accountable for it but I do still feel that that needs to be done.
Following a one-minute silence at the memorial service outside New Street station, Phillips read out the names of the deceased and the Duchess of Edinburgh read out a message on behalf of King Charles.
The king’s message said:
My wife and I would like to take this opportunity to say that you and all those affected by this dreadful attack remain very much in our thoughts. What happened on this day 50 years ago was one of so many dreadful tragedies in a devastating period that touched us all, many of us very personally.
I must also express my sincere admiration for the people of Birmingham who have lived so courageously with the grief of that day and the days that followed.
Asked about racial disparities in Covid deaths, Hancock told the inquiry that this was an issue he was alert to because he had already taken an interest in institutional racism in the NHS. But he also said some the “hard left stuff” put out by NHS bodies to address this were not the right way forward.
Hancock tells Covid inquiry he does not accept NHS was 'overwhelmed' during pandemic
During evidence this morning Hancock was challenged when he claimed that the NHS was not overwhelmed during the pandemic.
Jacqueline Carey KC , counsel for the inquiry, put it to Hancock:
The fact that the nurses are being stretched to the ratios that we’ve looked at and the potential adverse consequences for those who are in ICU does not in fact demonstrate the NHS was, in fact, overwhelmed.
And Hancock replied:
No, because people could get treatment. The treatment was not as good as in the same way that the waiting times for a knee operation was not as good as pre-pandemic.
I’m not saying that the NHS was perfect in the pandemic, and I’m not saying that it wasn’t severely pressured in many areas and that that pressure had consequences. The point of saying that it would be overwhelmed is that the system as a whole, withstood the pressure.
As Martin Bagot reports in a story for the Mirror, Carey pushed back at this point, saying that if people were not getting the treatment they would normally get, they would think the system was overwhelmed. Bagot says the exchanges got testy, and that some relatives of people who died who were attending the hearing seemed to get distressed by what they were hearing.
Hancock tells the inquiry that some hospitals refused to test their staff for Covid because they did not want to lose too many people off sick.
He says that is an example of a “cultural problem in the NHS” in that not enough is done to tackle “nosocomial infection” (infection picked up during a medical procedure).
Health service was 'within 6 to 7 hours' of running out of gowns at one point during pandemic, Hancock tells inquiry
Back at the Covid inquiry, Matt Hancock, the former health secretary, is being asked about PPE. He has just said that at one point the country was “within six or seven hours” of running out of gowns.
Hancock was being asked about this chart, showing how long stocks of various types of PPE were expected to last before they ran out.
Earlier in his evidence this afternoon Hancock said that, although individual hospitals may have run out of PPE, the country as a whole never ran out.
Jacqueline Carey KC, counsel for the inquiry, put it to him that that was not any consolation to health staff who went without PPE.
Updated
The flag at the Guildhall in Hull is flying at half-mast to mark the death of John Prescott, who was an MP for the city for 40 years. The city council has posted this on social media.
The Guildhall flag is flying at half-mast following the death of Lord Prescott.
— Hull City Council (@Hullccnews) November 21, 2024
The former Deputy Prime Minister represented the city as the MP for Hull East for 40 years following his election in 1970.
You can read tributes to Lord Prescott here: https://t.co/0agXcCHaRT pic.twitter.com/ZYFixrzezY
Tributes from the council are here. And there is a good round-up of tributes to Prescott on the LabourList website too.
Overseas territories continue to delay setting up public registers of beneficial ownership
David Lammy’s announcement of sanctions against kleptocrats (see 1.19pm) came as crown dependencies and overseas territories (OTs) wrapped up a joint ministerial council in London at which resistance to the decade-old UK demand to set up public registers of beneficial ownership was once again raised. Public registers, by ending the secrecy surrounding the transfer of assets to tax havens, make it easier for campaigners to expose money laundering, as well as deter it taking place in the first place. The last missed deadline was for the end of 2023.
The key OTs have found a series of reasons not to implement the measure including citing a 2022 European Court of Justice ruling saying the registers breach European privacy laws. None of the OTs are inside the EU but they argue they cannot afford to have stricter declaration laws than other countries or else funds will leave their jurisdiction.. As prime minister ahead of the G8 in Northern Ireland in 2016 David Cameron first set out the UK goal of setting up registers, but a succession of deadlines have been allowed to be missed with no action taken by the government to impose registers.
The lack of the registers, as well as the presence in London of money laundering enablers, is the Achilles heel of the UK’s efforts to become an international leader in the fight against corruption.
Stephen Doughty the Foreign Office minister, has written to the OTs setting out his expectation that the registers will be set up, and has visited some of the territories to seek their cooperation.
A spokesperson for the Cayman Islands government said it was continuing to work towards an “enhanced beneficial ownership framework” by the end of 2024,.
A cross-party coalition of 40 MPs in a letter earlier this week called for ugent action against the overseas territories.
Lammy claims 'golden age of money laundering' in UK coming to end as sanctions announced against kleptocrats
David Lammy, the foreign secretary, claimed he was bringing the golden age of money laundering to an end when he announced sanctions against three high-profile kleptocrats and their key enablers.
Lammy said the tide was being turned on corruption after a long period when the previous government allowed the role of London as a money laundering capital to continue.
When Labour was in opposition Lammy stressed how much damage Britain’s role in laundering corrupt money was causing the country’s reputation in the global south, as well as the damage done to the international financial system,.
The three main designations announced today cover: Dmitry Firtash who is known to have extracted hundreds of millions of pounds from Ukraine, hiding millions in the UK property market; Isabel Dos Santos, the daughter of Angola’s former president who is accused abused her positions at state-run companies to embezzle at least £350m; and Aivars Lembergs, one of Latvia’s richest people, who abused his political position to commit bribery and launder money.
Firtash has already been sanctioned in other jurisdictions. The UK also sanctioned his wife, Lada Firtash, who has profited from his corruption and holds UK assets on his behalf, including the site of the old Brompton Road tube station, as well as Denis Gorbunenko, a UK-based financial ‘fixer’ who enabled and facilitated Firtash’s corruption.
Dos Santos was once dubbed ‘Africa’s richest woman’. She has been subject to an Interpol Red Notice since November 2022 and just last month lost a case at the court of appeal regarding her worldwide asset freeze. The UK also said it was sanctioning her business partner Paula Oliveira, and her chief financial officer Sarju Raikundalia. The Foreign Office said both had helped Dos Santos funnel Angola’s national wealth for her own benefit. It is not known how many assets they still have in the UK.
Lammy said:
These unscrupulous individuals selfishly deprive their fellow citizens of much-needed funding for education, healthcare and infrastructure - for their own enrichment.
I committed to taking on kleptocrats and the dirty money that empowers them when I became Foreign Secretary and these sanctions mark the first step in delivering this ambition. The tide is turning. The golden age of money laundering is over.
Scottish government's budget will involve 'honest conversation' with voters, says John Swinney
At FMQs today the Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay attacked John Swinney over today’s Audit Scotland report which was damning in its criticism of the Scottish government’s lack of long-term strategy over public finances.
The report also criticised the SNP’s short-term fixes, lack of transparency and warned that fundamental changes were needed to keep public services affordable.
Swinney insisted that financial constraints on his budget were the result of UK Tory austerity, trotting out his favourite jibe about Findlay’s future previous support for Liz Truss, and said next month’s budget would involve “an honest conversation with the people of Scotland”.
Meanwhile the Scottish Greens’ co-leader Lorna Slater pressed Swinney on whether the budget would introduce a public health levy on alcohol and tobacco, as health campaigners lobby his government to introduce one.
Swinney said he couldn’t pre-empt budget decisions, arguing the finance secretary was facing pressure from all sides with a budget under severe constraints thanks to inflation and hefty public sector pay deals.
Downing Street has described unconfirmed reports that Russia may have fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into Ukraine as “deeply concerning”.
Asked about this at the morning lobby briefing, the PM’s spokesperson said:
As you will understand it is a rapidly developing situation and I don’t want to get ahead of our intelligence services who are looking at these reports urgently, but if true, clearly this would be another example of grave, reckless and escalatory behaviour from Russia and only serves to strengthen our resolve.
Martin Belam had more coverage of this story on today’s Ukraine war live blog
Updated
Keir Starmer has defended the government’s decision to register 470 delegates to attend the Cop29 climate conference in Baku in Azerbaijan.
During his Commons statement he was asked about the large number of people attending by the independent MP Shockat Adam who asked if the cost was justified, particularly given the cut to winter fuel payments.
Starmer said the British contingent was small than it was at last year’s Cop, and that there was “a lot of negotiation” to be carried out there. “It’s absolutely vital that we’re doing that important work,” he said.
Updated
John Healey, the defence secretary, has been giving evidence to the Commons defence committee this morning. But he wouldn’t confirm that Ukraine has started firing Storm Shadow missiles provided by Britain at Russia. Asked to confirm these reports, Healey said:
I won’t be drawn on the operational details of the conflict. It risks both operational security and in the end the only one that benefits from such a public debate is President Putin.
Healey also said this was a “serious moment” for Ukraine and he said battle lines were now “less stable than at any time since the early days of the full scale Russian invasion”.
UPDATE: Healey said:
This is a serious moment that I come before the committee. Defence intelligence will reveal today that the front line is now less stable than at any time since the early days of the full scale Russian invasion in 2022.
We have seen in recent weeks a very clear escalation from Putin and his forces. They have stepped up attacks on the energy system in Ukraine ahead of winter, they have stepped up attacks on civilian centres killing children, they have deployed at least 10,000 North Korean troops to the battle front line.
And there are unconfirmed but media reports today of Russia firing a new ballistic missile into Ukraine which we know they have been preparing for months.
While the Ukrainian actions on the battlefield speak for themselves, be in no doubt that UK government is stepping up our support for Ukraine, determined to continue doubling down our support for Ukraine.
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The Guardian columnist Martin Kettle has sent me this anecdote, which he describes as his favourite memory of the late John Prescott. Martin says:
I was at a Labour conference in Blackpool in the 90s and I bumped into him back stage in the press room and he said: “Is your fella Steve Bell here?” I said, yes, Steve was. “Well can you introduce me? He always draws me as Tony’s dog, and I’m not a fuckin’ dog.” Steve was sitting quite nearby, so I nervously made the introductions as the two big guys met up. Within a few seconds, Prescott’s threatening manner vanished and he and Steve were in stitches about some joke or other. Then, as Prescott was leaving he turned and squared up to Steve and said. “No dogs, OK?”
Of course it made absolutely no difference whatever, and Steve kept on drawing him as a dog.
Hancock tells Covid inquiry interference from No 10 caused 'incredible difficulties' with testing programme
Matt Hancock has told how he “ruffled some feathers” protecting the NHS from political “interference” during the Covid pandemic, PA Media reports.
Giving evidence to the Covid inquiry, the former health secretary said part of his role was to “shield” the NHS from “people being difficult in Number 10”. He said:
Within the running of the NHS, we were protected in a way because of the independence of the NHS.
And therefore the people being difficult for Number 10, part of my job was to provide a shield from that.
And I know that I ruffled some feathers in doing so, but my job was, ironically, also to protect the NHS from some of that.
Hancock told the inquiry that interference from Number 10 caused “incredible difficulties” with regards to testing people for Covid.
Hancock is giving evidence as part of the inquiry’s third module investigation, focusing on the impact of the pandemic on the NHS.
As PA reports, Hancock was asked by inquiry counsel Jacqueline Carey about his witness statements which suggested “inappropriate political interference from Number 10”, and whether that interference applied to the scope of these hearings. He replied:
Well, of course some of it did. For instance, the biggest interference that caused difficulties was within testing, where some of the political appointees in Number 10 caused incredible difficulties.
Hancock was almost certainly referring to Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s chief adviser at the times. Earlier hearings have proviced copious evidence showing that relations between Hancock and Cummings were dire.
Earlier today Hancock also claimed that former first minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, caused “all sorts of difficulties” as the pandemic unfolded. (See 10.26am.)
Starmer tells MPs he condemns jailing of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong
Keir Starmer said that he condemned the jailing of 45 pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong by the Chinese authorities during his statement in the Commons.
He was challenged to use the word condemn after Conservative MPs suggested that he was reluctant to sound too critical of China on this issue.
In her response to Starmer’s opening statement, Kemi Badenoch said that the activists were sentenced the day after Starmer held talks with Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, at the G20 summit. She said she had not heard him condemn the sentences at the time, and she challenged him so do so “unequivocally”.
In response, Starmer said “Minister West” (Catherine West, the minister for the Indo-Pacific” made a statement on this and he said he was happy “to repeat and affirm her position”.
Later Iain Duncan-Smith, one of the most China-criticial Tories and a former party leader, asked Starmer to be more explicit. Starmer replied:
I said I condemned it a moment ago, and I’m happy to say so. I just did and I will say it again.
It is important that where we have these significant differences, particularly on issues of human rights, that we have frank, open discussions about them and that is why these matters have been raised repeatedly.
Here are two more tribute to John Prescott.
From the former Labour leader Neil Kinnock
John Prescott was an intriguing mixture of ferocity and charm who attracted affection, respect and, sometimes, outrage.
He was truly a political innovator in policies ranging from integrated transport to combating climate change and regional democratic and economic development to European co-operation.
Vitally, he was also a very practical MP and minister who continually sought the best way to ‘get things done’ whether that meant bringing divergent people together or insisting on details of implementation. This central invaluable quality made him an essential figure in 10 years as deputy prime minister.
From John Major, the former Conservative prime minister
[Prescott] was an essential part of Labour’s electoral success in the 1990s and – as deputy prime minister – continued to say what he thought in unmistakable terms. He never lost sight of the causes that first motivated him into politics, and remained a passionate advocate for all he believed – even if that meant the odd tussle with colleagues along the way.
Although a political opponent, I much admired him as a man who never betrayed his core instincts. He was, in essence, a deep down genuine politician. The public saw that – and respected him for it.
In his response to Kemi Badenoch in the Commons (see 11.27am), Keir Starmer also criticised her suggestion that he should not have attended the G20 in Brazil. Badenoch did not quite say he should have stayed at home, but she said being at the G20 was probably “a lot easier” than being in London when '“hard-working farmers were protesting outside the Downing Street gates at his cruel family farm tax”.
Referring to her comments, Starmer said:
[Badenoch] references me being in Rio when the farmers were protested.
G20 is the leading economies of the world, getting together to discuss questions of common issues on the economy and on security.
If her implication is that the UK should not be there at leader level, that we should join Putin in avoiding that meeting, if that’s the position of her party, then she should say so.
Starmer condemns Badenoch for abandoning cross-party consensus on climate crisis policy
Keir Starmer’s statement to MPs about the G20 and Cop29 summits largely summarised announcments made while he was at those events. Kemi Badenoch, the new Conservative leader, responded. Normally exchanges like this are relatively tame, because the main parties often broadly agree on foreign policy issues, but Badenoch was very critical of Starmer’s foreign policy positions, particularly on climate, and Starmer condemned her for breaking what had been a cross-party consensus on reducing emissions.
Referring to Cop29, Badenoch said:
Cop has not yet concluded, so we do not know what the final impact on the UK will be. But we do know the prime minister’s rush to a further cut in our emissions [a reference to this announcement] is yet another example of politicians putting short term publicity above long term planning.
When will he publish the plans to achieve this new target?
Where this government does the right thing, we will back it. Yet, where it puts politics before people and press releases before practicality, we will hold them to account.
It is time for politicians to tell the truth, and it is time the prime minister provided some substance to back this costly rhetoric.
Badenoch pointed out that, by attending the G20 summit in Brazil, Starmer was out of London for the farmers’ protests. And she ended:
The prime minister’s foreign policy is a pick and mix of empty platitudes, unilateral commitments that he could have announced at home, and dangerous precedents – rushing to give away the Chagos islands and paying for the privilege, an ill-judged suspension of export licences to Israel, damaging our defence and security industry and failing to set out a roadmap for spending 2.5% GDP on defence in a world that is becoming yet more dangerous.
I hope the prime minister is up to the very real and serious challenges posed to our security and prosperity.
In response, Starmer said that Badenoch’s decision to abandon the cross-party consensus on reducing carbon emissions and the drive to net zero “shows just how far the party opposite has fallen”. He said:
On Cop … I have to say, it is a shame that what used to be a cross-party issue not so many years ago … when Cop was in Scotland, there was a real unity across the house about the importance of tackling one of those central issues of our time.
I think the fact that she has now taken the position she has of attacking the very idea of setting targets shows just how far the party opposite has fallen.
On an issue like this, I was proud that under some of her predecessors we had that unity. It’s a shame it’s now been lost because of the position adopted by the opposition.
Badenoch describes herself as a “net zero sceptic” and in a recent interview she suggested that an adaption strategy might be a better solution to the climate crisis than just focusing on cutting carbon emissions.
Updated
Watch live feed of Matt Hancock giving evidence to the Covid inquiry
The former health secretary is answering questions on the NHS response to the pandemic
Updated
Keir Starmer is in the Commons where he has made a statement to MPs on the two summits he has attended recently, the G20 and Cop29.
But he started with a tribute to John Prescott, calling him “a true giant of the Labour movement”. He went on:
John achieved that rare thing – he changed people’s lives, and he set the path for us all to follow … He did it all in his own way, with humour, with pride, passion and total conviction. He truly was a one off.
Starmer also said that there would be full tributes to Prescott in the Commons on another occasion.
Steve Reed says government wants to make farming 'more profitable'
Steve Reed, the environment secretary, has announced a plan which he said would make farming more profitable.
In his first speech since the thousands of farmers held a mass rally in Westminster on Tuesday to protest about the government’s plans to extend inheritance tax to farms, he announced a new, farmer-led 25-year roadmap for the sector.
He also said that, instead of reversing the inheritance tax changes in the budget, he would make changes to the supply chain to ensure farmers get a fair price for their produce.
Recent research has shown that farmers get about 1p from the price of a block of cheese or a loaf of bread in the supermarket, and farmers make about a 0.5% return on their investments.
Speaking at the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) conference, Reed said:
I’m not prepared to let so many farmers keep working so hard for so little. We need to work together to agree what we want British farming to look like in 25 years time. That means a plan to transition farming to new models that are more environmentally but also more financially sustainable for the long term.
We will do this by developing a 25-year farming roadmap. This will be the most forward looking plan for farming in our country’s history, with a focus on making farming and food production more profitable in the decades to come.
It will not tell farmers what to do. It will be farmer led so they can tell the government what they need to make the success of this vital transition.
Referring to the inheritance tax row, Reed went on:
One of the things farmers were telling me last Tuesday is how little profit they make. How little money for all the hard work they put into producing the food for the rest of us to enjoy.
The answer to that isn’t to tell farmers they’re not in it for the money, as I’ve heard just last week.
The answer is to make farming more profitable. The government will do precisely that. We will make the supply chain fairer so food producers and growers are not forced to accept unfair contracts.
Reed concluded:
I heard the anguish of the countryside on the streets of London earlier this week. We may not agree over the inheritance tax changes, but this government is determined to listen to rural Britain and end its long decline.
The CLA conference is the where Reed told farmers last year, when he as shadow environment secretary, that Labour was not going to extend inheritance tax to farms.
Victoria Vyvyan, president of the CLA, has accused the government of “taxing us out of existence” and “embroiling” rural people in a “stupid row about numbers”.
Today, addressing Reed before he gave his speech, she said:
Secretary of state, you need to act. Last year, I asked you, were you to be elected, could we in this room count on you to go into bat for us at cabinet? And you said yes, and that’s what I want to see from you.
This isn’t about party politics. It’s not about personal party alignment. This is about the fact that you are the one who’s sitting there at the cabinet, representing us, and you have to forget any differences that we might have, and you have to remember that you are our voice at the heart of government.
Updated
Jacqueline Carey KC, lead counsel for the inquiry, asks about a minute of a meeting he had with health ministers from the devolved governments. She shows an extract on screen.
The minutes refer to Jeane Freeman (JF), health minister in the Scottish government, asking for a reset in the relationship between the English and Scottish administrations.
Carey asks if that related to anything related to the theme of module 3 – the impact of Covid on the NHS.
Hancock says that was a reference to Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish first minister, “causing all sorts of difficulties”. He says that is not relevant to this module.
Matt Hancock, the former health secretary, has now started his evidence to the Covid inquiry.
Asked if he thought the “Stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives” messaging struck the right balance, Hancock says he thinks it did.
Q: Do you think everything possible was done to keep healthcare workers safe?
Hancock says:
It was obviously extremely difficult to keep healthcare workers as safe as possible, because effectively the wards of the NHS became the front line in this deadly battle.
Q: Do you think visiting restrictions, and restrictions on people being with loved ones when they were dying, were too strict?
Hancock says:
We were balancing incredibly difficult considerations on both sides. I think, on balance, we got those broadly right across the pandemic. But I entirely understand and feel very, very strong arguments on both sides.
But Hancock says he thinks the guidance for funerals was applied in a stricter way than had been intended.
Q: Do you accept that going into the pandemic with a low number of intensive care beds and high bed occupancy put the system under more strain?
Of course, says Hancock.
Q: Do you think now that the decision to suspend all non urgent elective care was the right one?
Yes, says Hancock.
We are inviting readers to share their memories of John Prescott. You can do so via this page.
Matt Hancock gives evidence to Covid inquiry
We will carry on reporting tributes to John Prescott as the day goes on, but there is other news happening today too and soon I will switch to the Covid inquiry, where Matt Hancock, the former health secretary, is giving evidence from 10am. He has already given evidence to the inquiry before, but the inquiry is now on module 3, focusing in particular on the impact of the pandemic on the NHS, and Hancock will be talking about that.
We have also got John Healey, the defence secretary, giving evidence to the Commons defence committee from 10.30am this morning.
Updated
Peter Mandelson says Prescott was 'the cement that kept New Labour together'
Peter Mandelson was one of many people in the Labour party who feuded with John Prescott at various times when they were in government, and at one memorable photocall in the summer of 1997 Prescott compared him to a crab. Today, speaking on Sky News, Mandelson played down the extend of their disagreements, and pointed out that Prescott had supported his application to become Labour’s communications director in 1985 – the job that turned out to be the launchpad for Mandelson’s career.
Mandelson said it was wrong to say Prescott was not New Labour.
Some people say sometimes that he wasn’t New Labour. But that’s not true. He was New Labour. He was one very essential part of New Labour. He basically kept us anchored in our working class roots, our trade union history. And he was the bridge, essentially, between that and the modernisers in the Labour party, Tony, Gordon, me and the others. And he always wanted that project to work. It’s not as if he was standing outside it and peering in. He was on the inside and making it work. He was, in many respects, the cement that kept New Labour together.
Asked what he was like to work with, Mandelson replied:
He was absolutely impossible. When I say he was sort of courageous, he was. When I say he was loyal, he was. When I say he was determined, he was. He was always determined to get his own way on any particular issue at any given moment. Right up until the point he’d say, ‘OK, I’ll do this for you. You do this for me. As long as you cover this off I’ll happily go along with it.’
So he was a negotiator. He was a trade union negotiator. He was a broker. But at the end of the day he wanted it to work and the way in which he made it work was by being incredibly difficult for days on end and then finally sealing it, making work, agreeing it and off we went.
Mandelson also recalled a surprise conversation earlier this year he had with Prescott.
I was at home on a Sunday morning and the phone went and then suddenly I put it on and it was the face of John Prescott on my phone FaceTiming me from Hull. I mean, no advanced warning. No how do you do. It was, ‘Hello, is that you?’ ‘Yes John it is me. What do you want?’
He said ‘I just want to say that I know it was difficult and we were bloody awful to you at times and I was, but actually you did good and I want to forgive you.’ What am I being forgiven for here? It was just, ‘I want to forgive you because you did good. And I know it wasn’t easy at times and I know it was rough and I know I didn’t help but now I understand.’ And I said, ‘John that’s very kind of you. How do you suddenly understand this?’ He said, ‘Oh well somebody gave me this book of yours. I didn’t read it before. It looked very boring. But I’ve looked at it, I’ve dipped into it and I’ve seen what you went through … I feel rather sorry for you actually. And anyway, thanks very much.’
It was a few minutes more … but that was it. That was the last time I spoke to him.
Here are more tributes to John Prescott from Labour figures on social media.
From Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair’s communications director in No 10
JP RIP … there was nobody else like him. Tony could not have had a better deputy. Labour could not have had a better campaigner. The government could not have had a better negotiator and - yes, often, peacemaker. Hull could not have had a better MP. Of course he was combative but he had an enormous heart and a great capacity for friendship. Even with his horrible illness in later years, the old JP was always there. Love to Pauline, Jonathan and David and nothing but fond memories of a total one off who will be missed by so many.
From Yvette Cooper, the home secretary
Such sad news about John Prescott. A campaigning Labour hero & a remarkable minister who transformed lives - upgrading millions of council homes, coalfield regeneration, tackling climate change. Fierce & warm hearted - there was no one like him. Thinking of Pauline & family today
From Ed Balls, the former adviser to Gordon Brown and later secretary of state for children
My tribute to the late John Prescott filmed early this morning for @GMB - he was a great, generous and under-estimated man. pic.twitter.com/UmlwXp2woY
— Ed Balls (@edballs) November 21, 2024
From Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader
I am really sad to hear that John Prescott has passed away.
John was a huge figure and personality, from his seafaring union days to the highest offices in Government.
I will be forever grateful for his personal and political support in the 2017 and 2019 elections. His endless warmth and iconic wit were loved on the campaign trail.
My deepest sympathies to John’s family at their loss. He will be greatly missed.
From Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland secretary
1/2 John Prescott was a political giant who made a unique contribution to the Labour and trade union movement he loved so deeply. Authentic, funny, tough, highly skilled and, at times, unpredictable, he often used the phrase “traditional Labour values in a modern setting”.
2/2 In doing so, he would reassure and inspire Party members with whom he had a great bond. He will be much missed. All our thoughts are with Pauline and his family on this very sad day.
From David Lammy, foreign secretary
John Prescott was one of the giants of our party. Committed, loyal, Labour to his core. A relentless champion of working people who never forgot who he came into politics to fight for. Full of good humour and blunt common sense. Rest in peace
Angela Rayner pays tribute to Prescott, saying he was 'inspiration to me'
Angela Rayner is often compared to John Prescott. They were both brought up working class, became Labour MPs after working in the trade union movement and have been frequently patronised or demonised by Tories and the media, partly on the grounds of class snobbery. And both ended up deputy PM.
Here is her tribute to Prescott.
Through his half a century of public service and a decade as deputy prime minister, John Prescott was driven by his Labour values to serve working people.
Fiercely proud of his working class and trade union roots, he never lost sight of who he came into politics to serve. He used the chance he was given to change the lives of millions of working people.
A giant of the labour movement and loyal friend, he will be remembered with huge fondness by all those who knew him.
John was not only a Labour legend but an inspiration to me, and always so generous with his time and support.
We will miss him greatly. Our thoughts and prayers are with Pauline, David, Johnathan and the rest of the family.
Updated
Prescott's family ask people not to send flowers but to donate to Alzheimer's Research UK instead
Here is the full statement from John Prescott’s family announcing his death. Prescott was living with Alzheimer’s in his final years and his family have asked wellwishers minded to send flowers to donate to Alzheimer’s Research UK instead.
They say:
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.
He did so surrounded by the love of his family and the jazz music of Marian Montgomery.
John spent his life trying to improve the lives of others, fighting for social justice and protecting the environment, doing 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.
As you can imagine, our family needs to process our grief so we respectfully request time and space to mourn in private. Thank you.
Here is a John Prescott picture gallery.
Gordon Brown pays tribute to Prescott
Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Caroline Davies.
The former prime minister Gordon Brown has just been on the Today programme paying tribute to John Prescott. He said:
John was a friend of mine, he was a colleague, but when you think of him, he was a colossus, he was a titan of the Labour movement.
John Lennon talked about working class hero. It’s difficult to fit that term, but I think John would like that.
You’ve got to look at his achievements. He was probably the first government minister to see the importance of the environment. Kyoto, that environmental treaty in 1997, you’ve got to attribute that to John’s hard work with Al Gore.
Then he saw the importance, and he was a pioneer of regional policy. So the fact we have devolution and mayors owes a great deal to what John was thinking right throughout the 1980s and 90s when I was working with him.
And then we mustn’t forget that one of the great achievements of John as environment secretary was the repair and improvement of housing, 1.5m houses which would not have been repaired without John’s determination that the social housing stock had to be remodernised.
So you’ve got to look at the practical achievements of someone who possibly surprised himself by the way that he managed to become deputy prime minister, but actually made a huge difference.
Yorkshire has “lost one of its great political heavyweights,” said Tracy Brabin, mayor for West Yorkshire. In a post on X she said:
Deeply sad news to hear of John Prescott’s passing. Yorkshire has lost one of its great political heavyweights. A true Northerner with unwavering authenticity. John’s record speaks for itself: tackling regional inequalities, fighting for social justice and protecting the environment.
We must all now build on his legacy and work tirelessly, as he did, to create a country that works for all.
Updated
Lord Prescott’s wife and two sons said he had been in a care home recently living with Alzheimer’s. Hilary Evans-Newton, chief executive at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said:
It’s heartbreaking to hear that former deputy prime minister, Lord John Prescott, one of the most prominent political figures of our generation, has died with Alzheimer’s. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones during this difficult time.
It’s tragic how many lives are being lost to dementia, the leading cause of death in the UK.
We’re incredibly moved by Lord Prescott’s family, who have asked for donations to Alzheimer’s Research UK, in lieu of flowers.
As the UK’s leading dementia research charity, we’re accelerating progress towards a cure, so no one’s life has to end this way.
London mayor Sadiq Khan said Lord Prescott was a “true giant” of the Labour movement. Khan wrote on X:
Sad to hear the news about John Prescott. A lovely man, proud trade unionist, brilliant campaigner and someone who committed his whole life to helping others. The last Labour Government simply couldn’t have achieved all it did without him. A true giant of the Labour movement.
Updated
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said:
I am deeply saddened by the news of John Prescott passing away and my thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family. John Prescott will be remembered as a towering figure in British politics and 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.
Recalling the moment John Prescott punched a protester who threw an egg at him in 2001, Tony Blair told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that he answered “well, John is John” at a subsequent press conference.
Someone smashed an egg on his head, and he turned up, and he turned around, and he punched the guy and laid him out.
This caused a huge sort of fracas, obviously... We had to give a press conference in the election campaign the next day, and some people were saying, well, look, he’s deputy prime minister - you know, you can’t have a deputy prime minister thumping a voter.
And then there were other people who said, yeah, but you know... he had this egg slammed in his head, and he turned around and whacked the guy, and a lot of people think, well, fair enough.
A long debate ensued, Blair said, adding: “Finally, at the press conference, when I was asked about that, I just said, well, John, is John. And so was that supposed to be an answer? I said, Yeah, that’s an answer, that’s as much as you can say.”
Updated
Ed Miliband, the energy secretary and former Labour leader said Lord Prescott was a “titan of the Labour movement”.
Miliband wrote on X:
I am deeply saddened to hear of the death of John Prescott. He was a titan of the Labour movement, a unique and irreplaceable fighter for justice.
He fought for social and economic equality all his life, championed the cause of the environment and showed how politics could change lives for the better.
John represented the best of Labour values and I will always be grateful for the support he provided to me as Labour leader. I extend my deepest condolences to Pauline, Jonathan and David.
Former Conservative Party leader Lord Hague said Lord Prescott was a “formidable debater”.
Posting on X, Hague said:
John Prescott was one of the great figures of our political era—passionate, loyal, and full of life. I will never forget our many lively exchanges across the despatch box. John was a formidable debater, unflinching in his commitment to his values, and he had a unique ability to speak directly to the concerns of the people he represented. It was a point of pride for both of us that we hailed from Rotherham; although it shaped us in different ways, we shared a certain bluntness in our exchanges—though in true Yorkshire fashion, John usually got straight to the point faster than I did! John’s legacy as a voice for working people and a relentless advocate for Labour will endure. My thoughts are with his family and loved ones at this very sad time.
Sir Tony Blair’s tribute continued:
I relied on him many times: when in difficulty, under attack; and less well known when I needed someone whose gut instinct I trusted better than my own.
To say we were partners would never capture the nature of our relationship. There was nothing formal about it. We met and talked regularly. Rules of protocol were cast aside. Debates were had which could be fierce. But once concluded, the common line was kept.
The truth is for all the difficulties and the differences and the jokes about us both and our ‘odd couple relationship’, we had developed a genuine admiration, respect and affection for each other.
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.
He will deservedly occupy a special place in the pantheon of the Labour leadership; he will be mourned by his many friends and fans around the world and for me personally, today is a day of profound sadness but also immense pride in having known him and worked with him: a great man and great servant of country and party.
Updated
Tony Blair 'devastated' by death of Prescott
Labour former prime minister Sir Tony Blair said he was “devastated” by the death of Lord Prescott, and described his deputy as “one of the most talented people I ever encountered in politics”.
Blair said:
Although we all knew that the end was approaching and was inevitable, I am devastated by John’s passing. He was one of the most talented people I ever encountered in politics; one of the most committed and loyal; and definitely the most unusual.
There was nothing about John which fitted conventional wisdom. He was from proud traditional working class stock yet understood instinctively and completely the aspirations of that class and their desire to better themselves.
He was liberal and tolerant, yet instantly intolerant of any overly liberal middle class dismissal of the misery suffered by poor inner city communities from crime and drug abuse. He could talk in the bluntest and sometimes bluest language, but it concealed a first rate intellect which meant he thought as deeply about issues as much as he cared about them.
It is no exaggeration to say the Labour Party could never have won three consecutive full terms without John. He was a commanding presence. He represented the wing of the party which was not New Labour, but he did it in a way which never reduced the effectiveness of our appeal and indeed extended it, broadening the base of our support.
He had extraordinary accomplishments: he revived many of Britain’s inner cities, was responsible for the refurbishment of thousands of council homes, the revival of British shipping, completed the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, established the Coalfield Communities Trust to breathe life back into villages and towns affected by the closure of mines; and was Britain’s lead negotiator for the Kyoto climate treaty, the world’s first attempt to agree a global response to climate change.
Updated
Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, the BBC’s political editor Chris Mason described John Prescott as a piece of “blunt grit” among the “slick middle class polish of New Labour.”
He told listeners Prescott was “proudly working class, proud of his trade union background, and proud to bind his party’s past with its present.”
Mason quoted former prime minister Tony Blair in his memoirs, recalling of Prescott that “he could be maddening, he could be dangerous, he could be absurd, he could be magnificent, [but] never dull, placid, uneventful, forgettable.”
Jon Trickett, the MP for Normanton and Hemsworth, wrote on X a short while ago:
John Prescott was a Labour giant. I knew him well. V sad to hear of his passing. Mining communities owe him a debt for settling the enormous claim for industrial injuries. In my constit over 10000 families received compensation which amounted to £100m plus Thank you my mate.
Updated
Here is Keir Starmer’s tribute on X in full: He wrote:
“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 deputhy 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.
Keir Starmer: Prescott was 'true giant of Labour'
British prime minister Keir Starmer says he is “deeply saddened” to hear that Prescott has died, and called him a “true giant of Labour”.
In a statement on X, he said, “I am deeply saddened to hear of the death of John Prescott. John was a true giant of the Labour movement. On behalf of the Labour Party, I send my condolences to Pauline and his family, to the city of Hull, and to all those who knew and loved him. May he rest in peace.”
Updated
Al Gore: Prescott 'fought like hell' for Kyoto Protocol on climate change
Former US vice-president Al Gore, who worked with John Prescott on the Kyoto protocol climate change agreement in 1997, said he had “never worked with anyone in politics – on my side of the pond or his – quite like John Prescott”.
Gore said in a statement:
He possessed an inherent ability to connect with people about the issues that mattered to them – a talent that others spend years studying and cultivating, but that was second nature to him.
He fought like hell to negotiate the Kyoto Protocol and was an unwavering champion of climate action for decades to come. I’m forever grateful to John for that commitment to solving the climate crisis and will miss him as a dear friend.”
Maria Eagle, the Labour MP for Liverpool Garston, described John Prescott as a great Labour deputy leader.
She recalled his work for the relatives of those who lost their lives in the sinking of the MV Derbyshire in 1980.
In a post on X, she wrote: “I’ll always remember what he did for the MV Derbyshire families, insisting on work that led to the vindication of their deceased relatives, who they felt had been blamed for the sinking.”
When Labour won the election in 2007 with Blair as PM, Prescott, in addition to being made deputy PM, was put in charge of a new “super ministry” covering the environment, transport and the regions.
In that role he was credited with a number of successes, including helping to negotiate the international Kyoto Protocol on climate change and creating regional development councils as well as reforms to the transport system.
East Hull MP Karl Turner has released a statement on Prescott’s death. Turner has known Prescott all of his life, he said, and knows “first-hand the impact that he had on many thousands of people across the city and the country.”
Prescott played an instrumental role in negotiating the Kyoto protocol on climate change, Turner recalls.
Times radio breakfast host Stig Abel described Prescott on X as, “One of the most colourful, memorable politicians of our lifetimes. A man everyone can conjure in their minds immediately, and you can’t say that about many politicians any more.”
Born in Prestatyn in Wales on 31 May 1938 the son of a railwayman, Prescott left school at the age of 15 to work as a trainee chef and then as a steward on the Cunard Line before entering politics.
In a private letter in 2007, Blair said his former deputy’s role “smoothing out problems, sorting out colleagues and troubleshooting” had been an “integral part of getting things done”.
The former prime minister said: “The completely unique Prescott blend of charm and brutality – made always more effective by the unpredictability of which would be predominant – got you through the decade, kept the government together and above all, gave me a lot of fun. I was lucky to have you as my deputy.”
Prescott served as deputy PM for 10 years
Over a parliamentary career spanning more than half a century, Prescott served for 10 years as deputy prime minister after Labour’s 1997 general election landslide.
At times short-tempered, he once famously punched a protester who threw an egg at him during an election campaign visit to north Wales in 2001.
But during much of his time in office, he acted as a mediator in the often turbulent relationship between Tony Blair and his chancellor, Gordon Brown.
He also oversaw the environment, transport and the regions, a brief that included helping to negotiate the international Kyoto protocol on climate change.
Prescott was a loyal supporter of Blair in office but subsequently critical of parts of New Labour’s legacy, denouncing Britain’s involvement in the Iraq war.
He also strongly defended Jeremy Corbyn during his time as party leader in the face of fierce criticism.
Prescott served in parliament for 40 years
In their statement, Prescott’s family said that representing Hull for 40 years in parliament was the former deputy PM’s “greatest honour”.
The statement reads, in part:
John spent his life trying to improve the lives of others, fighting for social justice and protecting the environment, doing 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.
As you can imagine, our family needs to process our grief so we respectfully request time and space to mourn in private. Thank you.”
Opening summary
The former British deputy prime minister John Prescott has died aged 86, his family announced on Thursday morning.
His family said he had “spent his life trying to improve the lives of others, fighting for social justice and protecting the environment”.
“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,” they said.
“He did so surrounded by the love of his family and the jazz music of Marian Montgomery.
Prescott served in Parliament for 40 years, eventually becoming deputy prime minister under Tony Blair.
After leaving office along with Blair in 2007, he became increasingly critical of the New Labour legacy, denouncing Britain’s involvement in the Iraq War.
More shortly.
