Blair and Brown pay tribute to ‘working class hero’ at funeral of John Prescott

Former prime ministers Sir Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have paid tribute to a “working class hero” who “rose to the highest ranks of the land” at the funeral of Lord John Prescott.

Senior figures from past and current Labour governments gathered at Hull Minster on Thursday to remember the former deputy prime minister who died in November aged 86.

The funeral cortege included a Jaguar hearse and limousine, in a nod to Lord Prescott’s nickname “two Jags”, and Sir Tony and Mr Brown joked in their eulogies about the famous incident in the 2001 general election campaign when he punched a man who threw an egg at him.

Lord Prescott’s coffin was carried into the minster as former Downing Street director of communications Alastair Campbell played the Welsh national anthem on the bagpipes.

Mr Brown paid tribute to Lord Prescott as a “working class hero” who “kept the show on the road during difficult times”.

Giving the first eulogy at the service, he said: “We will never see his like again. A man of the people he certainly was, in a class by himself, a one-off. One of a kind but one of us, in the best sense of the word.

“Unique, remarkable, extraordinary. John Lennon would have called him a working class hero, and not least because he risked appearing on Gavin And Stacey, seen by millions, as Nessa’s rejected suitor.

“John was a man of the people because he could connect with people, and I don’t just mean that man in Rhyl who dared to hurl an egg at him.

“John could connect with people who had not only encountered him in the media, but knew he was on their side.

“The John you saw in Hull and the John you saw at home was the John you saw in Downing Street, and the reason is he was never afraid to stand up for what he believed, and for the people it was his life’s work to serve.”

Sir Tony joked with the congregation about the “pandemonium” that ensued after “the punch” in the 2001 general election campaign.

He recalled ringing his deputy with reluctance and asking him to apologise.

Sir Tony said he got the reply: “The answer is no, I’m not bloody apologising and that’s the end of it.”

The former PM said: “Classic.”

He said he watched the footage again recently and was “cheering him on”.

Sir Tony Blair told the congregation: “It’s right that we celebrate his life. He played a huge part in the affairs of Government but I want to celebrate him also as a man, a good man, a man who started as my political partner and became my personal friend.

“You will miss him, we will miss him, but I hope if John’s looking down on us, and not already in deep negotiation with St Peter over the accommodation, I hope he will see in this vast gathering today, a recognition of that working class boy from a small Welsh town, who rose to the highest ranks of the land by merit, by graft, by greatness of courage and character, and he will feel deservedly at peace.”

Lord Prescott’s son David told the funeral: “He was a man who spent his life overcoming challenges and helping others,” adding: “Prescott was always at your service.”

He described how the “bolshy ex-waiter” became deputy prime minister and talked about his family life.

He also spoke about his father’s final days in a care home, thanking all the carers and staff who looked after him.

Mr Prescott finished his eulogy with the speech Lord Prescott gave to the East Hull Labour Party in 1968 as he pitched to be the local MP, saying: “John always had the last word.”

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner read the poem Here by Hull-based poet Philip Larkin, and Sir Keir Starmer read from Psalm 107.

Hosted by the Rev Canon Dominic Black, the service included singing from the Choral-Hull children’s choir, made up of pupils across the city.

More than 300 family members, friends and colleagues were invited. Labour-linked attendees included Chancellor Rachel Reeves and mayor of London Sadiq Khan, and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper arrived with her husband Ed Balls.

Former home secretary Baroness Jacqui Smith, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle were among the first to arrive, followed by Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle.

Lord Prescott, who served as deputy prime minister under Sir Tony between 1997 and 2007, died on November 20 last year in a nursing home where he had been living with Alzheimer’s.

In lieu of flowers, the family requested donations for Alzheimer’s Research UK.