Prescott compares Brown to the captain of the Titanic (and he was trying to help)

John Prescott's latest attempt to shore up Gordon Brown backfired last night after he compared the beleaguered premier to the captain of the Titanic.

The former deputy prime minister's blunder came as he issued a rallying cry to Labour activists on his internet blog.

Mr Brown has been effectively put on notice by a cabal of Blairite former ministers that he has until next month's party conference to turn his ailing Government around.

Responding to a comment posted by one reader regarding the party's looming leadership crisis, Mr Prescott tackled the topic using 'maritime analogies'.

'But it wasn't the Captain that sank the Titanic – a ship they claimed was unsinkable – it was the iceberg,' he wrote on the Labourhome website. 

'The best way to avoid disaster is to manage your way around the problem.

'And speaking as someone who's served on a ship and in a leadership, the best person to steer us through is a captain with the experience to navigate through these stormy financial global seas.

'For me, it's all about setting the right course. That's why I've always favoured policy over personality and why I believe Gordon's the right captain.'

Although it was clearly not Mr Prescott's intention to add to Mr Brown's difficulties, with the Prime Minister's authority under increasing scrutiny, the comparison does not look particularly favourable.

Doomed: Prescott pointed out an iceberg, not the captain, sank the Titanic in an misguided attempt to defend Brown's leadership

However, as the outspoken MP admits later on in his posting: 'I've gone through my whole life speaking my mind and I don't think I'm going to stop now.'

One aide said: 'Trust John to end up saying completely the opposite thing to what he meant.

'But he is right – Gordon is the best man to steer Britain through tough economic times.'

Last week, Mr Prescott was among several Cabinet ministers to show publicly their support for Mr Brown.

Sinking feeling: John Prescott

However, several key players, including possible future leaders Alan Johnson and James Purnell, have been notable by their silence.

Blairite former ministers led by Stephen Byers are meanwhile preparing to turn up the political heat on the Prime Minister in the next few weeks.

Friends of Mr Byers suggested yesterday that there will be no orchestrated campaign during August.

Mr Brown is on holiday until later this month and then flies to Beijing for the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games, returning after the Bank Holiday.

However, some allies have urged him not to leave the country, fearing that is when plotters could strike.

He is facing three key challenges in September – a planned full-scale Cabinet reshuffle, the launch of an economic recovery package to include help with energy bills and mortgages, and a speech to the party faithful.

Mr Brown has already been left bruised by a series of woeful opinion polls, disastrous by-election defeats and backbench revolts over key policies on the 10p tax rate, anti-terror laws and vehicle excise duty.