John Prescott returns to his minibus displaying a sign reading 'Prescott Express' after giving a stump speech during the 2017 general election campaign.Former deputy prime minister John Prescott has died at the age of 86 following a battle with Alzheimer’s disease.The peer was a key figure in the New Labour government which swept to power in the 1997 general election landslide.His family said he had “spent his life trying to improve the lives of others, fighting for social justice and protecting the environment”.The former trade union activist and ex-merchant seaman died “peacefully” and surrounded by relatives at his care home, his family said.He became a Labour peer in 2010 after serving for four decades as an MP for Hull.In a statement released after his death, his wife Pauline and sons Johnathan and David said that representing the people of the city had been “his greatest honour”.“We are deeply saddened to inform you that our beloved husband, father and grandfather, John Prescott, passed away peacefully yester