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Prescott Dropped Hint of Blair Quitting

John Prescott has dropped a juicy morsel of news in an apparent slip when he said that Labour members would have the chance to decide the party leadership "very shortly".

The remark had tongues wagging as the innuendo seemed to say that Prime Minister Tony Blair might be giving up his post soon.

Prescott made the statement in a television interview, where he also admitted that he indeed dressed up in the cowboy outfit that was given to him by casino mogul Philip Anschutz, the owner of the Millennium Dome, who is also bidding to turn it into a super casino.

The BBC interview had Prescott losing his cool over the suggestions that his visit to the Colorado ranch of Anschutz influenced the decision on the Dome one way or another.

The insinuation of a cabinet reshuffle came in time with the statement of a senior cabinet minister: "It is no secret that JP [John Prescott] will face a challenge at conference."

"The party has its means by which it makes decisions about that and I think that will come very shortly," Prescott said.

When asked about what he meant by "very shortly", Prescott said he wanted to see "sufficient time for people to get in the job... there will be a timetable that will be decided by Tony and the party".