Former deputy prime minister John Prescott has died aged 86 following a battle with Alzheimer’s, his family has announced.
His family said he had “spent his life trying to improve the lives of others, fighting for social justice and protecting the environment”.

The former trade union activist and ex-merchant seaman died “peacefully” and surrounded by relatives at his care home, they said.
Lord Prescott was a key figure of Sir Tony Blair’s New Labour project, seen by many as custodian of the party’s traditional values in the face of a modernising leadership.