Ex-UK Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott is hailed as a working-class hero after his death at 86

Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Former British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has died at age 86. Prescott’s family announced his death on Thursday. They said the politician had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and died peacefully in a care home on Wednesday. Prescott was a former merchant seaman who brought grit, humor and working-class authenticity to the government of Prime Minister Tony Blair, who became prime minister in 1997. Blair said Prescott “was one of the most talented people I ever encountered in politics, one of the most committed and loyal, and definitely the most unusual.” A key member of Blair’s Cabinet, Prescott also worked with Al Gore to secure the 1997 Kyoto Protocol climate agreement.