BRITAIN: Britain's Deputy Prime Minister, Mr John Prescott, is facing a big increase in the rent he pays for a flat owned by his former trade union, it was learned yesterday.
Mr Prescott is believed to pay £220 a month for the two-bedroom flat in Clapham, south London, which is well below the rate for other homes in the area. Estate agents say that a similar-size flat in Clapham would be rented out for £1,600 a month.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport Union, which last week switched support from Mr Prescott and a number of other Labour MPs to a new group of left-wingers, has applied to the Lambeth Rent Tribunal for rent increases on its flats, except those occupied by union employees.
Mr Prescott resigned from the RMT last week following its conference decision to cut funding to the Labour party and adopt a new campaign group of MPs. The Deputy Prime Minister, who had been in the union for 47 years, said yesterday that he remained a "trade union man" despite the split with the RMT. - (PA)