Prescott tiring of fringe life

John Prescott

The deputy prime minister was in a lift in the Radisson hotel on the way to a fringe meeting when he was overheard glumly asking a colleague: "How many more of these things have we got tonight?"

Mr Prescott has been a highly visible presence around the conference village despite not being listed as an attraction at many of the fringe events.

He was spotted up at the crack of dawn on Sunday - the first day of the conference - eating breakfast in the Alto Terrace restaurant in the Radisson.

He will close the conference with his knockabout speech on Thursday.

There has even been a suggestion that his traditional Tory-bashing round-up would be dropped in light of the recent troubles which led to him being stripped of his departmental responsibilities.

© Copyright 2008 Manchester Evening News. If you wish to use this article for commercial purposes please contact our syndication department.