Way back in 1995, at the Labour conference, John Prescott - who has confessed to suffering from bulimia - attempted to present me very publicly with... a pork pie.

It was the last day of the conference, in Brighton, and John was doing his usual Les Dawson routine in his closing speech.

But he'd taken offence at the page one splash in the Daily Express, for whom I was political editor at the time, about him being in dispute with Peter Mandelson over who should give an end-of-conference interview.

Ludicrous as it now seems that Old Labour John should deny being at odds with Moderniser Mandy, he claimed it was lies, which it wasn't, of course. Hence "porky pies". (I know, but that was obviously his idea of humour.)

I didn't give John the satisfaction of collecting the pie on the platform. But he brought it to the Press Room later and it was indeed a splendid, enormous pork pie. Normally, one would have expected JP to scoff it himself.

That's because Prescott has never made any secret of his love of food like pork pies, chips and fry-ups and the sort of meals that nutritionists tell us we should avoid.

Indeed, I've lost count of the number of photo-opportunities he has staged which involved food, including pork pies.

I also recall looking through the glass door of the Member's Tea Room in the House of Commons and seeing John stuffing his face with a big fry-up, even after he was diagnosed with diabetes, or "the diabetics", as he calls it.

But bulimia? One close associate told me: "Oh yes, I knew about it. But we were sworn to secrecy."

But other friends are sceptical. One veteran parliamentarian who's known Prezza for many years says: "I've never known him throw up, even after eight pints and a good curry."

Lovely. I think I'll stick to pork pies.

Comments

[keith 23 Apr 2008 19:41:49]

we feed this man out of tax payers money for ten years and he puked it all up not tinned hotdogs but rump steak what a waste we wont our money back.

[Rob, UK 23 Apr 2008 10:49:13]

Are people really falling for this lie of the week? Prezza on the "two finger diet" i think not!

[Liz, Suffolk 23 Apr 2008 09:53:41]

How on earth can John Prescott profess to be a bulimic when we have seen his weight increase dramatically over the 10 years he was DPM? This, surely, must be a scientific miracle. Never mind the book - perhaps he can now see what a money-spinner this could be for him and sell his secret to a drugs company.

[Alan, Isle of Wight 23 Apr 2008 08:36:04]

Could this be a pre-emptive
strike on the publiction of MP's food expences ? Gee I've heard some excuses in my time but this one takes the biscuit

[Bruce Hulmes 22 Apr 2008 11:02:24]

Madnurse.Treading on thin ice here.It now appears the only people to be allowed to speak on race or imigration are second generation immigrants themselves. Continualy telling me how grateful I should be to be paying tax to support them and their children, their four wifes, terrorist cells,sorry Radicle groups and children in Poland.Now seeing that Mr Phillips can pass any comment he wishes without being abused, I must agree with his remark that we should encourage more immigrants to go to Scotland say 2 million perhaps to Fife.I wonder what Brown thought of that suggestion?.

[Peter, Fife 22 Apr 2008 11:00:03]

Victor, NW Kent,

He may well exceed the thresholds to which you allude; however I’m not so sure his he does not qualify for free specialist treatment.

The trail goes cold on John Prescott’s visit to Armenia; however as it was a European Human Rights Delegation which he was heading who knows when or indeed if we will ever find out the details.

[Victor, NW Kent 22 Apr 2008 10:09:33]

Peter

I suppose that we should be pleased that Prescott will be unable to claim Disability Benefits as his various pensions take him way over the top.

The last I heard about him before this was that he had gone to Armenia to mediate a dispute that was virtually a civil war. Anyone know what resulted from that? I see he made a rare appearance at Parliament yesterday.

[Peter, Fife 22 Apr 2008 09:01:51]

Victor, NW Kent

That was the nice way of posting 'accusing an individual of being untruthful’

[Victor, NW Kent 21 Apr 2008 20:33:46]

Peter, Fife

"‘newspapers’ I feel should tread carefully when accusing an individual of not being bulimic".

A novel slant on the law - do you mean that someone can sue because they have not been libelled?

[paul jenkinson 21 Apr 2008 18:16:04]

Seems like a PR sympathy stunt with a book to flog

We didnt hear him on Tv when he was caught with his pants down. Couldnt get near him for minders at election time

[Peter, Fife 21 Apr 2008 17:06:17]

Madnurse,

I agree with much of what you say, although proprietors of ‘newspapers’ I feel should tread carefully when accusing an individual of not being bulimic as a certain Sunday tabloid found to their cost on 4th November 1993 when accusing Sir Elton John of being bulimic; the jury found in the plaintiff's favour, awarding him damages in the sum of £350,000, being £P75,000 by way of compensatory damages and £275,000 by way of exemplary damages.

After all a patients records can be produced in court if the patient agrees.

[Madnurse 21 Apr 2008 15:08:48]

Peter Fife:

Sorry I forgot to mention, the referenced medical history will not be available for people to check, as it is both private and confidential as is the case for all medical records. We shall just have to take those concerned's word that such a condition exists.

[Madnurse 21 Apr 2008 14:57:25]

Peter Fife:

I agree, there is little in the way of statistics in the public domaine regarding age/gender of sufferers of this and similar disorders. I merely stated that neither myself nor my husband (A retired consultant psychiatrist) can remember such a case involving a male in his late fifties during our professional careers. There does seem to be a culture nowadays to label people with various medical problems that may not have been so in years gone by. I can only speak regarding this matter from my personal professional clinical experience, but I did retire just over twenty years ago and the situation may well have changed now.

There does seem, in my opinion, to be a political movement in this country to both "woosify" the general population and feminise men. By altering the way men and women see themselves, may well lead to a rise in this type of disorder amongst males and perhaps a reduction in the number of female sufferers. I look forward to seeing some statistics on this matter.

I agree, if it is merely a cynical ploy to sell more books, it is more likely to originate from the offices of the publishers or agent rather than the author.

[Madnurse 21 Apr 2008 14:36:55]

Bruce Holmes:

Of course you are a victim!
You, I and everyone else amongst the Indigenous Islanders (My new ethnic origin classification for use when completing government forms)have been victims of this useless government and it's anti English policies. The only difference between you and I and the vast majority in this country, is that we haven't allowed ourselves to wallow in the state of self pitying victimhood and we will not let ourselves become part of the culture of dependency so favoured for ordinary people by this Labour government.

I don't usually comment of matters of multi culturism but, yesterday hearing Mr Philips state that we (Britain) need to "compete" to attract more imigrants to our country, made my blood boil. We are overcrowded now, we should be looking at reducing the world's population growth, Mother Earth can only support so many people. The one thing that makes me think a bit is, Africa keeps producing populations that it can't feed or support and that is being mirrored by the young in this country, so often the poorest produce the most off spring with no thought or care as to how they will support those children.

[Peter, Fife 21 Apr 2008 14:25:36]

Madnurse,

There seem little available statistically to determine the age groups who are affected within the male population, NHS Direct state:

“... Bulimia can affect both men and women but, statistically, women are 10 times more likely to develop bulimia than men. However, bulimia is becoming more common in boys and men.
Recent studies suggest that around 8 in every 100 women will have bulimia at some point in their lives. The condition can occur at any age but it often starts around the age of 19. Bulimia can affect children, but this is extremely rare...”

As for publicity for his book I would suggest the culprit, if one exists, may well be his publisher; as in all books of this type this type of bait is employed by publishers and the newspaper which is serialising John Prescott’s book.

I must admit I have not read any excerpts from his book although television reports I have watched have referenced a long medical history which must be a matter of record.

[Bruce Hulmes 21 Apr 2008 12:51:00]

Not another poor victim.
I must be the only person in this country who has not been a victim of some kind.
In fact that in its self must come under some heading of abuse, wheres the nearest
COUCH.

[Kevin Romford 21 Apr 2008 12:21:05]

He must have had it bad, he made me sick as well.

[Gary, Coventry 21 Apr 2008 11:55:06]

John Prescott is fat, as he did eat all the pies. Anyone who says otherwise is not only blind but deaf, dumb AND being force fed Labour spin.
What next, Gordon Brown is in fact English?

[John (Northumberland) 21 Apr 2008 11:47:21]

Forgive my cynicism but could this be an appalling attempt to promote his book?

Or an even sadder attempt to divert attention away from the problems of this dreadful Government?

New Labour had a pathological liar as PM, delusional psychotic as Chancellor and now the DPM turned out to be an adulterous bulimic.

Keep the red flag flying!

[Madnurse 21 Apr 2008 11:24:05]

If John Prescott is indeed suffering from an eating disorder, then he has my sympathy and I hope he gets the help he needs to overcome his illness.

It is very rare for a male of Johns age to suffer from such a condition. Both myself and my husband cannot record a single incidence of such a case throughout our long careers.

One of the many unreported sides of Bulimia is very bad teeth. Someone that constantly makes themself sick to evacuate their stomache, damages their teeth seriously because of the stomache acid. This causes the teeth to discolour and eventually decay.

If this is just a cheap publicity stunt to sell a book, which I am not saying it is, then it sums up for me, the quality of our politicians and their levels of honesty and integrity.

[Elizabeth Davies Cape Town 21 Apr 2008 10:53:40]

I wonder has Brown paid Prescott to release this story to take the heat off Downing Street at this time, "food for thought".

[Peter, Fife 21 Apr 2008 09:41:26]

Firstly let me say from the outset that I was never and remain to this day not a supporter of John Prescott; to me he was a political dinosaur who ticked all the boxes which detailed all the features which were wrong with the Labour Party, both old and new.

What I do however find disgusting is the comparative attitudes of both journalists and public alike to John Prescott and the likes of Princess Diana; until proof positive either way can be established I believe he deserves the benefit of the doubt.

Both the aforementioned individuals attempted to manipulate the media, both claimed to have been treated for bulimia, only one has received sympathy for the psychological condition; this in my opinion says more about those who choose to attack than their chosen target of abuse.

NB. According to at least three relevant medical sites many individuals with bulimia remain at normal body weight or fluctuate above or below their norm because of their frequent binges and purges; they also warn that comparisons with anorexia and anorexics are not helpful.

[T.J. from Ireland 21 Apr 2008 09:16:27]

We should all remember that too many 'Porkies' would make anybody throw up. Especially those not partaking in them!!

[G.KING SUSSEX 21 Apr 2008 08:32:45]

He got fed up of not being in the limelight and of being ridiculed.So he has come up with this dubious story so that people will feel sorry for him and that it will give media coverage which he so obviously misses.

[mik 20 Apr 2008 23:34:09]

Who gives a monkeys,there are
other people with the same Problem but they have not got
a name! perhaps the press would like to Publish their
Story.So the taxpayer footed the Bill for his problem What
was it something like 40,000 pounds for his food bill? iF YOU ARE GOING TO GIVE US NEWS
THEN GIVE US SOMETHING INTRESSTING.

[Gary, Croydon 20 Apr 2008 22:11:51]

Prezza actually had Bulimic Amnesia.

We know he ate all the pies - he just forgot to vomit!

[seb/uk 20 Apr 2008 20:29:23]

I hope nobody buy's his book.What an appalling publicity stunt.

[Khalid 20 Apr 2008 19:44:48]

AS JP has a stomach like none other, thus far as his ailment for food, one thing for sure, there wont be many plastic bags around. So, how about an [Oasis] and [Don't Look Back In Anger].
Good Health by the way!

[richard woolley - loughborough 20 Apr 2008 18:56:24]

So john prescott is now after the sympathy vote with his vomiting eating disorder.

Should he not remember how his antics over the years have made the voters vomit on numerous occaisions.
A pathetic man.

[SF, London 20 Apr 2008 18:38:14]

I have been a bulimic since age 15 and have never thrown up. The most abuse I gave myself was to take masses of laxatives daily until I developed an ulcer. I also cut myself until I was put on anti depressants. Bulimia doesn't just present itself in the one vicious cycle of 'eat, throw up, then eat again' as your article implies; the low self esteem and excessive eating to the point of justifying the feelings of self disgust, are also common factors in this condition. I am by no means overweight at 9 stone but in my mind, at times I have felt positively obese. When people admit to having Bulimia, don't mock them, no matter how much you may dislike them as personalities or public figures.

[Mentor - Northumberland 20 Apr 2008 18:09:28]

Prezza proves the saying:

'Put Rubbish in get Rubbish out' All is now explained!

[Laurence 20 Apr 2008 17:47:51]

19 days late surely. This story was meant for April 1st.

I think you were very responsible in your actions with the pork pie I might have been tempted to find another use for it. I feel great sympathy for the many that suffer from various medical ailments - but I have no sympathy whatsoever for this truly horrible man.

[Trevor 20 Apr 2008 17:47:25]

Bulimia ?
I didn't know that made people in ordinately fat !

[Merv. Beszant, Dubai 20 Apr 2008 17:16:25]

Jon,
Judging by the size of Prescott, he obviously didn't appreciate that the output is supposed to exceed the input, and I can imagine Blair saying to him, "Whatever you do John, don't bring that up in the House"!
Knowing John, he probably thought that bulimia was a skin complaint suffered by Spanish bull fighters!

[Ty Wheatcroft - Redhill 20 Apr 2008 17:15:37]

Funny enough Prescott makes me feel like throwing up my lunch too!

[Dave, Wirral 20 Apr 2008 17:11:52]

I don't mean to belittle or make a mockery of the serious condition that is Bulimia, but you don't get to be Prescott's 'Jabba the Hut' physique as a result of having the condition but look more along the lines of posh spice and her wag friends etc.

It's good to see that the £4,000 of taxpayers money he claimed for food in a year has gone to such good use.

It must be so stressful for him playing croquet when he is left in charge of the country or perhaps the stress of punching voters etc. or perhaps the stress of being a complete and utter failure in every aspect you tackle from integrated transport plans to housing with my favourite quote being -
"The green belt is a Labour achievement and we intend to build upon it"

A priceless comment from a truly priceless man. I can't stand the man, but politics will be a much duller place without John and his gaffes when he does retire come the next election.

[Dave, Blackburn 20 Apr 2008 17:05:46]

This has got to be the best laugh that I've had this year!!!
Prescott...Bulimic...COBBLERS!!!

Whilst I'm no medical expert (let's give the Labour clowns an open goal here), I suspect that his 'Bulimia' is linked to a short term memory problem.
To explain..he pigs out on pies etc & then forgets to throw up.
Much like when he got 'hands on' with 'Tracey' and forgot that he was married!!

[John Hodges England 20 Apr 2008 17:05:04]

The way the British Press have tried to reply to this blatant spin to sell a pathetic book about a very pathetic individual who managed to get into a very important position in UK politics without a shred of competence is completly 3rd world politic's.
The man is not brave or courageous as some pundits are saying. He was a selfish manipulative individual who put himself above his wife and the country to appease his own feelings.This man eat all the pies to please himself, the illness appeared 10 years too late.If it was stress as he claims why did'nt he resign from cabinet as the stress was self inflicted by the fool not being able to do the job Blair bestowed on him .

[Richard, Dubai 20 Apr 2008 16:55:32]

John Prescott,
"The Mouth of The Humber"
Sum's it all up really.

[Elizabeth Davies Cape Town 20 Apr 2008 16:48:14]

Bulimia and Prescott, they are two words I would not have put in the same sentence.
I am very wary of believing this story, even backed up by a consultant. I hope he is not having us on!
Maybe he just mistook the "throwing up" sessions for over indulgence.
Should we give him the benefit of the doubt or should we give him the beer and the curry, hard to decide.

[Jill, Spain 20 Apr 2008 16:41:48]

Obesity caused by gluttony is his problem, and I won't be buying the book! Does anyone over 55 recall knowing someone with an eating disorder? My food was put in front of me and I ate it - no choices were given. Maybe part of the lack of discipline that the world and especially the UK is suffering from?

[Fred Dickson, Hartlepool 20 Apr 2008 15:49:09]

I don't think hes got Bulemia he,s just a glutton, making up a story because he a non entity jester , who's now out to grass. Absurd figure of ignorance , imposter and leech on the back of honest working people.

[Diane .Merseyside 20 Apr 2008 15:39:40]

John Prescott Bulimic ?

One should have thought a Bulimic person would be painfully thin, owing to the fact that, they vomit undigested food, after each time they eat.

John Prescott has been obese in all the time, I can recall his corpulent features, being splashed across the Media.

I see this 'Non News' item, has preceded the Main News of the day, regarding the beleaguered Goverment and the 10 Pence Tax rate debacle.

Even worst, the current Opinion Polls, indicating that the Conservatives have a 10 point lead over NuLab.

This is another nonsense story, just put out to 'spin' away from the most serious issue of the day.

Sky News demean themselves by reporting such cynical 'Non News', stories.

[carol-ann liverpool 20 Apr 2008 15:30:30]

Jon

Your observations are interesting and humorous but I think perhaps we should get the view of eating disorder experts before too much scorn is poured on JPs claims.
I believe the rather yucky part of the bulimic's behaviour is nearly always carried out in private and therefore not observable even by those who know the bulimic well.
Change of subject:

You will know that many in the press and elsewhere - often wondered what JP was FOR, and he was mocked for playing croquet with 'the staff' or serving cottage pies to the top team.

I think, now that GB is having some little 'local difficulties' over tax bands, it has become abundantly clear how important JP was.

John was entertainment's and catering manager - ever ready with a cottage pie and a cuddle or a joke for those wobbly days when tempers werer frayed and tears were flowing.
Now that the government are badly in need of a little cake and circus to offer the parliamentary groups and constituency chairs etc - we are without someone who can take on that very important role.
Every good (and cheerful) office has a JP and those who don't suffer as a result.

What it takes a communication director three meetings and ten memos to achieve, someone like Prescott can achieve with a pat on the back and a bacon butty.

[H. Ungry 20 Apr 2008 15:23:11]

Can we please change the terminology we use to describe eating disorders?!?!? People should not be made to think that the fact they have one should be confessed or admitted to! Its not a crime and the suffers should not be made to feel shame for it. There are 101 reasons people can have obsessions with food and working it all out is difficult enough without others treating it as scandal or gossip. One consistant aspect of Bulimia is that the sufferers are all too painfully aware as to what they should and shouldn't eat. They do not need this pointing out!............right, wheres my ice cream?

[Jon, cephalonia, greece 20 Apr 2008 14:58:04]

John Prescott stuffing his face and then throwing up dont make me laugh.

He spent the last 10 years stuffing his pockets with your tax money. He is still the most distasteful man in British politics EVER. To many free dinners at the publics expense has made this Nu Labour fat cat.

[SimonJ 20 Apr 2008 14:29:43]

Good job his food bill was not at taxpayers expence, the bill might have run into the thousands :0)