Labour peer John Prescott has been hospitalised after suffering a stroke.
The family of the former deputy prime minister, 81, confirmed the news in a statement and revealed he was taken to hospital on Friday (June 21).
According to a report in the Metro, it read: “We would like to praise the swift actions of the ambulance staff and the doctors and nurses at Hull Royal Infirmary’s A&E and stroke unit.
“They have been remarkable and we cannot thank them enough.
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“He is receiving excellent care from the NHS but we would respectfully request at this time that John and our family are given the privacy we need so that he can have the time and space to make a full recovery. Thank you.”
Lord Prescott was appointed deputy PM in 1997 by Tony Blair.
He held the position for 10 years but resigned when Blair stepped down as prime minister.
Prescott remained an MP until 2010, when he retired in the general election that saw David Cameron become prime minister.
He was made a life peer in the House of Lords on July 8 that year, receiving the title Baron Prescott of Kingston upon Hull in the County of East Yorkshire.
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In 2015, Prescott returned to politics as a special adviser to Ed Miliband, then-leader of the Labour party.
Prescott’s time as an MP spanned almost four decades, but one of the most memorable moments of his career was the time he punched a protester in the face.
During the run up to the 2001 general election, he was campaigning in Rhyl, Denbighshire when Craig Evans, a farmer, chucked an egg and hit him in the neck.
Prescott, who was just feet away, hit him in the jaw with a left jab.
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