Colin Brown: No-one would blame Deputy PM if he stepped down

As the author of his biography, I know the agonies he will be going through over the media witchhunt which he believes is out to get him. As Peter Mandelson said at the height of the "Dorneywood" furore, "JP" is a party man to his fingertips and would not want to do anything to damage the party.

At moments of frustration with the press, he is inclined to say: "I've had enough." No one would blame him if today he felt he had to step down.

He has had a remarkable career - from the deck of the Cunard liners, where he waited on tables, to the Cabinet room, where he chaired committees. But his most important role in recent years has been keeping Tony Blair and Gordon Brown from tearing the Government apart. Mr Prescott was the glue that held New Labour together. Today, as the regular meeting of the Cabinet takes place, he will be weighing up whether his position is in danger of undermining his personal legacy to the party, risking Labour's chances of a smooth transition of power.

Mr Prescott is determined not to give the press his scalp. Last night, as he attended a Cabinet committee meeting on energy, he had the chance to speak to Mr Blair privately. Mr Blair was totally behind his deputy.

But there are many different agendas being played out. Some Blairites would rather see Mr Prescott martyred to give Mr Blair more time. Some Brownites would not shed too many tears if his departure hastened Mr Blair's downfall. Both scenarios are dangerous for Labour's chances of a fourth term. One minister said: "If we had a deputy leadership election now, the public would think we are more interested in navel gazing than governing." Mr Prescott's friends rejected resignation talk. A Cabinet source said Mr Prescott was "still more likely to stay than go" but admitted that the odds on him quitting soon were "shortening".

Mr Prescott was regarded fondly until the affair with his diary secretary, Tracey Temple, became public knowledge. He survived that scandal, but the calls for his resignation were renewed when stories were leaked that he had pleaded with Mr Blair to keep his grace-and-favour residence, Dorneywood, after surrendering his Whitehall department.

It implied he was keeping the perks of high office without having to do the work. In the hue and cry that followed, he was photographed playing croquet at Dorneywood and the picture was complete: the working class warrior as a hypocrite.

However unfair the image, Mr Prescott was on the defensive until he announced he was giving up Dorneywood.

At the height of the row, Mr Blair told his deputy: "We were elected together - we will go together."