Prescott defends buffoon charge... badly

The Times columnist Mary Ann Sieghart has revealed a hilarious encounter with John Prescott that took place after the 7/7 terrorist attacks on London – a time when, because Tony Blair was away on holiday, the hapless "Prezza" was running the country.

Sieghart recalls that after writing a column headlined "Prezza the buffoon should simply not be left in charge" she received a call summoning her to Prescott’s office, for a face-to-face in which he attempted to prove he was intelligent.

She writes: "He launched into a tirade. His face reddened, his finger jabbed, he held up dog-eared pamphlets that he had written in the 1980s which apparently proved that he had a good brain… until he demanded: ‘So admit it. You were wrong about me.’ Given his emotional state, I thought it wise to be diplomatic. I said I was glad to have had the chance to hear his side of the story. ‘Why don't we leave it at that?’ I suggested."

"No," he said. "I want you to admit that you're wrong."

"I'm not prepared to," Sieghart replied. "I'm afraid you haven't persuaded me."

"Right then," he shouted. "I want you to justify every single word you wrote."

"Are you quite sure?" Sieghart took a deep breath and began: "Well, you punched a voter and you stuck two fingers up in Downing Street. That shows that you lose your rag too easily - as evidenced today, in fact."

"AS EVIDENCED TODAY?" he bellowed, his face beetroot, his fists clenched.

"Yes, I've been talking perfectly calmly," replied Sieghart, "while you've been shouting and jabbing your finger at me. I don't think that's appropriate behaviour in a Deputy Prime Minister."

Prescott then addressed his inability to string a sentence together. "I've not had the fine education you had," was his justification. "You're just a snob."

In response, Sieghart said that if a man couldn’t speak clearly, it was a sign that he couldn’t think clearly either. That was when Prezza finally lost it. "So what you're saying is I'm too thick to be Deputy Prime Minister?" he yelled at Sieghart.

His two apparatchiks stiffened as Sieghart replied – in a small voice - "Well, yes, I guess I am."

Sieghart says she later heard that Prescott stormed off to see Tony Blair afterwards, saying to him: "I've just had that Mary Ann Sieghart in", to which Blair replied, "That's nice".

"No it wasn't," said Prescott, still furious. "She told me I was too thick to be Deputy Prime Minister."

Blair allegedly laughed, and, according to Sieghart, said: "Well, she's not the only one who thinks that."