He was the politician who pulled no punches and in the wake of Lord John Precott’s death at the age of 86 from Alzheimer’s his most famous political moment is being remembered again.
The former Labour MP and peer passed away yesterday surrounded with loved-ones at his care home after a long battle with illness.
Lord Prescott was Tony Blair’s political bruiser and battering ram – the pugnacious bridge between New and old Labour who could down a pint in five seconds and was always up for a fight.
The son of a railwayman and a servant from north Wales, Lord Prescott was a fine boxer as a boy – and his most famous moment was when he thumped a farmer who had egged him outside a Labour rally in Rhyl in 2001.
The ex-merchant seaman earned the nickname ‘two jabs’ following the incident – a variation on ‘two Jags’, which referred to his fondness for luxury cars.
Former prime minister Sir Tony told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Thursday he ‘had a lot of really funny times’ with his deputy, adding ‘he could be a very amusing guy’.
Clearly emotional, he said: ‘I was just thinking this morning about the the time when in the 2001 election – remember when someone smashed an egg on his head and he turned around and he punched the guy and laid him out?
‘This caused a huge sort of fracas, this was an immense media story, and 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 can’t have a deputy prime minister thumping a voter.’
‘And other people said … ‘he had this egg slammed in his head, and he turned around and and whacked the guy, and a lot of people think, Well, fair enough.’
‘And so there was nothing you could do. So we had a long debate about it and finally, at the press conference, when I was asked about it, I just said, ‘Well, John is John.’
‘And so was that supposed to be an answer? I said, ‘Yes, that’s an answer.’ That’s as much as you can say, and that’s what he was like, there were no rules that he really abided by.
‘I feel a huge sense of loss, because it wasn’t just a political relationship. I had a profound affection for him.’
The punch happened when Lord Prescott had just got off his campaign bus, the Prescott Express, to speak at a Labour rally.
As he walked past a line of protesters, he was struck by an egg which covered his suit.
Lord Prescott turned and punched the protester and a brawl occurred – all captured by TV cameras.
Police officers managed to intervene and 29-year-old Craig Evans, a farm worker from Denbigh, was taken away in handcuffs.
Lord Prescott said at the time: ‘I was attacked by an individual. In the melee that followed I clearly defended myself.’
A number of newspaper surveys carried out after the punch suggested the public supported his actions.
Lord Prescott was interviewed by police but he was not prosecuted.
The Crown Prosecution Service concluded there was no realistic chance of convicting him because he had acted in self-defence.
Mr Evans spent several hours in police custody but no action was taken against him either.
In June that year, Labour won a second term in government.
Today the former prime minister was tearful as he said: ‘There was no-one quite like him in British politics. Underneath what could be a fierce exterior, and a manner some undoubtedly found intimidating, beat a loving, kind and compassionate human heart’.
The former Labour deputy prime minister was nicknamed ‘Two Jags’ due to his long love affair with them while in high office, including one infamous trip where he drove 200 yards in one to attend an engagement.
But he famously got rid of them in 2021, declaring: ‘I am now Zero Jags. It is my own small contribution to cutting carbon emissions’.
Lord Prescott became used to the finer things in life, enjoying croquet on the lawn of his country house at a time when he was in charge of the country.
He was nicknamed ‘two Jags’ after it emerged he had two Jaguar cars.
But in 2021, he revealed he no longer had them after becoming increasingly interested in climate change.
Alongside him throughout was his wife of more than 60 years, Pauline, who stood by him after an affair with his secretary became public in 2006. He said later that he was struggling with the pressures of political life – and should have told her – and that their relationship improved when she accepted his apology for the betrayal.
He had lived an extraordinary life.
The young man who went to sea after failing his 11-plus, later became a trade unionist and indispensable figure in Sir Tony Blair’s New Labour project.
His family said he had ‘spent his life trying to improve the lives of others, fighting for social justice and protecting the environment’.