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During his speech at the 1995 Labor Party conference, John Prescott appeared on stage waving a pork pie on a silver platter and shouted: “Lies, lies! Pork pies!”

This was the defining moment of my tumultuous 40-year relationship with the irascible, irascible former Cunard steward who became Britain’s longest-serving deputy prime minister.

The object of his anger was a headline on the front page of that day’s Daily Express that read: “Prescott’s anger at new snub. Blair MP ignored for radio interview.”

The story began: “John Prescott was ‘spitting blood’ last night at another humiliating snub from Tony Blair and his inner circle.”

“The Labor MP was said to be furious that Mr Blair’s friend Peter Mandelson appeared in his place in the end-of-conference BBC interview.”

The previous evening, two of my Daily Express colleagues and I had dined at English’s seafood restaurant in Brighton with Blair ally Jack Straw, then the shadow home secretary.

I had only filed a half dozen or so paragraphs, but the office called and requested more copies because they wanted to highlight the story a little more. So I looked for 10 more paragraphs from the British; While journalists explain their articles to the person taking copies on the phone.

Pork pie moment

Mr. Straw came to me the next day and said he thought he was the source of those who saw us eating.

It wasn’t like that, I assured him!

He was a Labor MP who was a close ally of Mr Prescott.

In his conference speech, Mr. Prescott tried to invite me to the stage where the pork pie would be presented.

I resisted temptation. But he wasn’t done.

After his speech, he came to the press room with Sky News and Newsnight TV teams to appeal against me.

And he actually gifted me the pork pie.

Jon vs John

In the following day’s Daily Express, under the headline “That’s pie in the sky, John”, I wrote: “Let me first declare my interest. I am an admirer of John Prescott, the Labor deputy leader.

“He shouted at me over the years, swore at me and once poked me in the chest in the committee corridor of the House of Commons.”

I remained a fan until his sad death. And when we last met in the House of Lords, when his health was failing, he said to me: “You always say it like it is, Jon.”

Somewhat surprised, I replied: “You didn’t always say that, John!” But obviously the old warhorse had softened in old age and was ready to forgive, even if he did not forget.

Before the debate in 1995, when Mr Prescott was a member of Neil Kinnock’s shadow cabinet, I often called him to quote me from newspapers where I worked before the Daily Express.

Often driving one of his legendary “two Jags,” he would start by berating me and complaining about “your damn paper,” and eventually say: “What do you want to know?”

legendary status

When Bryan Gould resigned from John Smith’s shadow cabinet in 1992 amid left-right policy conflict, I asked Mr. Prescott whether he planned to resign too.

“Don’t talk nonsense!” he answered clearly. Can be outspoken and combative. But he was also a pragmatist, as his 10-year tenure as deputy prime minister would prove.

Our last clash before detente was when he failed to become police and crime commissioner in Humberside in 2012; I also reported this for Sky News.

After his defeat, I asked him if he was going to retire now – for which I was not wrong. “Retire? Retire!” he shouted at me. He only did so later when his health began to fail.

I was encouraged when he spoke to me in a friendly manner the last time we met. After all, unlike some senior politicians, he was not someone who held grudges.

So what happened to the pork pie? I took it back to the Express office and presented it to the editor, Sir Nicholas Lloyd, who was quite astonished. But we didn’t eat it.

After all, the cake had legendary status. Like John Prescott did.

We will never see anyone like him again.