Prescott: I’ll only be known for that punch

IT WAS the moment that earned him the moniker ‘Two Jabs’.

And now John Prescott has said he will be remembered for the time he punched a protester – rather than for his political career.

The former Labour MP, 79, was deputy prime minister when a man threw an egg at him during the 2001 election campaign. Once an amateur boxer, he responded with a straight left jab to the jaw.

Speaking to Radio Times, he said: ‘I’m really proud of what I’ve achieved. But people won’t remember me for my 40 years in Parliament. Instead, I’ll be remembered for 40 seconds of my life. The time I thumped that bloke in the street. That incident, while I was out campaigning in Rhyl during the 2001 election, will be my obituary.

‘They’ve even put a plaque on the wall to mark the spot of this great historic punch. That’s life, I suppose.’

He added: ‘Never mind. Because if you’d have told the young John Prescott he’d end up doing what I’ve done – four decades as an MP, ten years as deputy prime minister, seven years in the House of Lords – he’d have been utterly amazed.’