John Prescott had a storied political career but his most memorable moment was arguably when he punched a protester on the election trail in 2001. The then deputy prime minister, who died on Wednesday,

The Labour former prime minister’s voice quavered as he paid tribute to his deputy prime minister, who has died aged 86.

Like a stick of rock, Prescott had the Labour Party running through him. Despite some failures of judgment, he embodied the shift from old to New Labour and his place in the party’s history annals is secure.