john leslie prescott, baron prescott (born 31 may 1938) is a british labour politician. he was born in prestatyn, wales. he grew up in brinsworth, yorkshire and upton by chester. he served as deputy prime minister when tony blair was prime minister. he started out as a shop worker and was often considered to be the "most working class member of the labour cabinet". whilst campaigning for the 2001 election, he punched a man who threw an egg at him. he has diabetes mellitus type 2 and had bulimia nervosa throughout his political career.