London - The Deputy British Prime Minister, Mr John Prescott, launched Labour's late summer offensive to recapture the political agenda yesterday by attacking the Tories' public spending record. Mr Prescott said they would make £16 billion in cuts in areas like health and education if returned to power.
The whiff of electioneering was in the air, with a general election possible as early as next May, as Mr Prescott attacked the personal credibility of the Tory leader, Mr William Hague, after he boasted to a men's magazine that he drank 14 pints of beer a day as a teenager.