John Prescott funeral in pictures: Sir Keir Starmer, Gordon Brown pay tribute to 'working-class hero'

Former and current prime ministers Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Sir Keir Starmer are among the mourners who have arrived for the funeral of Lord John Prescott.

The service for the former deputy prime minister, who died in November aged 86, is being held at Hull Minster, in his former constituency.

Lord Prescott’s coffin was carried into the minster as former Downing Street director of communications Alastair Campbell played the Welsh national anthem on the bagpipes.

Senior figures from the past and current Labour governments are attending, including Prime Minister Sir Keir, who praised Lord Prescott for his “tenacity and vision” ahead of the service on Thursday.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and former prime minister Gordon Brown were also at the minster before 11.30am, with the service starting from 12pm.

Mr Brown paid tribute to Lord Prescott as a “working-class hero” who “kept the show on the road during difficult times”.

Giving the first of five eulogies at the funeral service at Hull Minster, Mr Brown said: “We will never see his like again. A man of the people he certainly was, in a class by himself, a one-off. One of a kind but one of us, in the best sense of the word.

“Unique, remarkable, extraordinary. John Lennon would have called him a working-class hero, and not least because he risked appearing on Gavin And Stacey, seen by millions, as Nessa’s rejected suitor.

“John was a man of the people because he could connect with people, and I don’t just mean that man in Rhyl who dared to hurl an egg at him.

“John could connect with people who had not only encountered him in the media, but knew he was on their side.

“The John you saw in Hull and the John you saw at home was the John you saw in Downing Street, and the reason is he was never afraid to stand up for what he believed, and for the people it was his life’s work to serve.”

Former prime minister Sir Tony Blair had earlier arrived with his wife Cherie and was followed into the church by Lord Mandelson.

Sir Keir and Mr Brown walked into the building with their wives and began chatting to many of the guests who had assembled in the church.

Former home secretary Baroness Jacqui Smith, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle were among the first to arrive, followed by Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner walked towards the minster with Mr Campbell.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper arrived with her husband Ed Balls.

More than 300 family members, friends and colleagues have been invited to the service.

Lord Prescott, who served as deputy prime minister under Sir Tony Blair between 1997 and 2007, died on November 20 last year in a nursing home where he had been living with Alzheimer’s.

The service, hosted by the Rev Canon Dominic Black, will include singing from the Choral-Hull children’s choir, made up from pupils across the city.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations for Alzheimer’s Research UK.