Pressure mounts for Blair's Deputy to Resign
Raza Mumtaz 'Pakistan Times' Executive Editor/UK Bureau Chief

LONDON (UK): Britain's Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott faced growing calls to resign Tuesday as lawmakers in the ruling party clashed over his role at the heart of government.

Pressure has grown on Prescott, a Labour Party heavyweight, to go since he admitted last month to having an affair with a secretary.

He sparked further scorn for clinging to his 133,000 pound (247,000 dollar, 193,000 euro) salary and ministerial homes after a cabinet reshuffle in which he lost key responsibilities because of the sex scandal.

Then, at the weekend, he was pictured by Sunday newspapers playing croquet last week at one of his estates when he was deputising for Prime Minister Tony Blair who at the time was meeting US President George W. Bush in Washington.

Prescott, who turns 68 Wednesday, has been mocked in parliament and dubbed "a laughing stock" by his opponents.

Ian Gibson, a senior backbench Labour MP, questioned Prescott's position as a minister with no specific department any more.

"What matters to the person in the street is what he is doing, what is his job? He has all the fringe benefits and so on but yet it's not clear what his position is," Gibson told BBC radio.

"I think that's what makes people cynical about politics, and John perhaps in particular," he said.●