BRITAIN: The Tories dismissed John Prescott as "history" yesterday after he finally surrendered his Dorneywood country residence while retaining a second grace-and-favour apartment and the title without the departmental power of deputy prime minister.
And despite an initial rally by some previously critical Labour MPs, one of their number echoed a warning from former Conservative chancellor Kenneth Clarke that the beleaguered Mr Prescott is not "out of the woods" yet.
Mr Prescott announced his climbdown a week after photographs showed him with staff playing croquet on the lawns of the stately Buckinghamshire retreat, just hours after Prime Minister Tony Blair flew to Washington leaving him notionally in charge of the country.
With public and Labour Party pressure growing on him to quit his post and perks, Mr Prescott also confirmed Mr Blair had warned him when he gave up his departmental responsibilities in last month's reshuffle that Dorneywood might become a target for criticism if he insisted on retaining the use of it.
Mr Prescott famously did, vowing not to be "salami sliced" out of office by an increasingly hostile press following the disclosure of his two-year affair with a former diary secretary, and having earlier this week linked his own retirement plans to those of Mr Blair.
In an interview with the Guardian Mr Prescott conceded that "a month ago I did not see why I should leave it", before pitching for renewed support from party colleagues with an acknowledgement of their concerns.
"Like other cabinet ministers before me I've used Dorneywood as a place to stay to relax and to work, but I am well aware that my use of it is now a subject of public controversy and criticism and a matter of concern amongst some MPs and the Labour Party," he said. "I have accepted that my continued use of Dorneywood is getting in the way of doing my job in government."
With Mr Blair and his presumed successor Gordon Brown anxious to save Mr Prescott and so avoid a damaging contest for Labour's deputy leadership, environment secretary David Miliband yesterday led the deputy prime minister's defence, declaring: "He's a big man. He has decided the best thing for him to do is to give no possible suggestion that he has anything other than the interests of the country in mind, that he's focusing on his job."
Dr Ian Gibson MP also welcomed Mr Prescott's response to criticism from within the party: "I think now he is fighting back and that is good. We need that kind of fight within the Labour Party. He will be a good role model for many of us."
However, his MP colleague Andrew Dismore, while welcoming Mr Prescott's decision, confirmed that women voters in particular had been concerned by revelations about the deputy prime minister's personal life, adding that "time will tell" if he could survive in his cabinet post.
Former chancellor Ken Clarke, meanwhile, said the controversy over Mr Prescott playing croquet had simply been "a symbol of his loss of influence and purpose" and of the ridicule now surrounding the government as a whole. "I don't think he's got out of the woods because he's given up Dorneywood."