Morning:
13°c
Now Prescott mocks Brown over YouTube appearance
Joe Murphy05.05.09
John Prescott today joined the mockery of Gordon Brown's appearance on YouTube.
The former Deputy Prime Minister screwed up his face in an impression of the PM and joked: “I have worked with Gordon Brown for an awfully long time. He must have the worst bloody smile in the world.”
Mr Prescott, whose rubber-lipped impersonation looked remarkably like the late Les Dawson, loyally added in York city centre: “But the man has got the ability and intellect to get on with the job.”
Ironically, his remark came on the day that Mr Brown made a return to YouTube with a new video. After his last performance became an internet hit for its sheer awfulness, the new film — with only a trace of the infamous cheesy smile — left nothing to chance.
Most of the broadcast is taken up with a professionally edited montage of video clips that show Mr Brown looking like a dynamic leader and making the news at major world events, such as the London G20.
With a lively rock soundtrack, he is seen shaking hands with Barack Obama, speaking at the US Congress and meeting the public. Interspersed are images of prosperous factories, cheerful apprentices and dramatic scenes of London at work. Only at the end is Mr Brown shown talking to the camera, saying “together we can build a stronger, fairer Britain”, when a trace of his much-mocked smile passes briefly over his face. Mr Brown's spokesman refused to comment on Mr Prescott's remarks, saying: “John Prescott is big enough and grown up enough to speak for himself.”
Mr Brown's previous YouTube foray attracted hundreds of hostile comments from viewers. Labour MP Gordon Prentice told the Commons last week he found himself “flinching” at the film. “It was just too horrible to watch,” he said.
Earlier today Mr Brown summoned Cabinet minister Hazel Blears for a face-to-face showdown over her weekend comments that appeared to attack his YouTube performance.
But Cabinet Blairites made a show of solidarity with the Communities Secretary, escorting her in and out of the weekly Cabinet meeting. Ms Blears was accompanied into the weekly Cabinet meeting at No 10 by arch-moderniser James Purnell and walked out by Culture Secretary Andy Burnham.
The Evening Standard learned that Ms Blears went into a private meeting with Mr Brown as her colleagues gathered outside, where she apologised for appearing to lambast his performance.
Her career was said to have been on a knife-edge over an article in which she attacked the Government's “lamentable failures” in getting its message across and seemed to single out Mr Brown's performance in the YouTube video by saying: “YouTube if you want to. But it's no substitute for knocking on doors.”
She was said to have been given a “hairdrier” by the Prime Minister on the phone at the weekend — slang for a dressing down. Insiders said their private discussion today was friendly and that Ms Blears apologised to him for the YouTube remark, saying she had not realised how it would be interpreted.
“The issue was settled between them at their meeting where they talked it through,” said a source. “It was a foolish mistake by her to use that phrase because it became loaded with a meaning she did not intend. She has now put it down to experience and resolved to carry on campaigning.”
Reader views (16)
Is it any wonder that people don't bother to vote? All politicians do is sponge taxpayers money with enormous expense bills and make fun of each other on You Tube. They're like spoilt teenagers.
- Mcw, London
Is it Snowing on 2Jags Shoulders???
Head and Shoulders is what he does appear to need......Does anyone have a hankie about?
- Sunny, USA
What a good friend Mr.Prescott is !.
With him who needs enemies.
- Bernard Parke, GUILDFORD
Blimey, you know things have got bad when even PRESCOTT feels comfortable taking the 'you-know-what'...
- John, London
He could do with spending a few bob on a face lift, jowl lift, tummy tuck etc re one of your articles
- Rosie, watford
Gordon Brown is a smart and gifted man. He has a lot to offer. Don't underestimate the man!
- Rick Huffman, Saint Joseph, Michigan
And he's the splitting image of the comic Les Dawson. The resemblence is uncanny.
- Frank, Bristol UK
Balls,Watson,McBride,Dolly Draper and Charlie Whelan-these are the people with whom the hapless Brown feels comfortable.No wonder even a Labour loyalist like Prescott is down in the dumps.The unelected Brown even has major Labour politicos holding up the red card for him to leave the stage.
- Chris, London,England
Ian, Reading: A Dictatorship? Goodness me! Is the UK REALLY a Dictatorship? Well, with 25% of the worlds CCTV, the largest ILLEGAL DNA DATABASE on earth, Local Council Gestapo being empowered to read your text and email messages and listen in to your telephone conversations (forget what GCHQ is spieling) it is certainly looking as though this lousy Labour Government have gone out of their way to make everyone in the UK live in fear - MISS PIGGY SMIFF is the main culprit, along with JACKBOOT STRAW, frightening peeps at every turn.
For example: Last week it was stated that exactly 94,000 peeps in London would die from swine flu. How precise! At the last count there are 28 known cases of swine flu in the UK. WHERE are the other 93,972 cases coming from?
As for bruiser Prescott, it beggars belief how you ever progressed further than the Job Centre in Hull. The man is an idiot - just like Gormless Brown, Balls, Jackboot Straw and Blunkett. Clowns the lot of them.
Not even funny clowns either.
- Reuben Camara, Morecambe UK
It just shows where this corrupt party is going.
- Martin, sheffield
How can the most useless minister to have ever held a position, dare to mock anyone, let alone his own hopeless leader?
- Dave Davies, Basingstoke
Av it Prescott! What a legend.
- Barry, Romford
Does it really matter what John Prescott says?..Was he ever taken seriously?..How he got to high office remains a mystery,his opinions are a nonsense.Never forget he stood by as Blair changed the Labour Party to 'Tory Lite' to get elected..Seduced by power,promises and broken dreams of being taken as a true labour heavyweight...Pun intended..He is yesterdays man...quite sad really,next week Prescott has his own chat show..move over Paxman..
- Jonnie Of Brixton, brixton,london,england
The main mistake over the You Tube incident was not the bad presentation; it was the total disregard for democracy in the parliamentary system.
The idea of having a Parliament is so that the government of the day can make its announcements there and then have them opened open to discussion by our representatives.
Pronouncements outside of Parliament, are just that and the actions of a Dictatorship.
- Ian, Reading, England
I reckon Les Dawson would have made a better politician than John Prescott. It's not as if he could have done much worse.
- Ian Gilbertson, Newcastle
One incredibly unpopular idiot mocking another?
- Frank, Home Counties, England.
