Question marks over part played by Prescott in dispute

When John Prescott visited his local fire station in Hull nine days ago, his experience as a former trade union leader was clear to see. Taking the unorthodox step of talking to frontline firefighters in person, the Deputy Prime Minister's plain speaking convinced those present of his willingness to listen to their case.

But as Mr Prescott sat in the station with a mug of tea in his hand, Graeme Lester, Humberside branch chairman of the Fire Brigades Union, asked the question many firefighters wanted answered. Mr Prescott's warm words were all very well, but wouldn't he be overruled by Downing Street?

The Deputy Prime Minister's response was as direct as it was simple: "I have told Tony Blair to keep his nose out of it and let me deal with it."

Yet by yesterday, when Mr Blair finally weighed in behind Gordon Brown's hardline warnings to the FBU, everybody knew that both Number 10 and Number 11 couldn't keep their noses out of the dispute.

As Mr Prescott's role and authority in the strike came under the microscope again, some union leaders were even asking: "If Prescott can't deliver, what is he actually for?"

Critics claim that the Deputy Prime Minister's union background and natural empathy with strikers mean that he has failed to prepare properly for the industrial action. His alleged belief in the "sanctity of the picket line" has meant he has refused to consider using spare red fire engines until very late in the day, they say.

Part of the problem is that ministers have been playing "good cop, bad cop" with the FBU in recent days. Mr Prescott made clear on Friday that he might be flexible over the key question of transitional funding from Whitehall. In an article in the News of the World at the weekend, he said the 16 per cent deal was "still worth talking about".

Mr Prescott and Peter Hain, himself a former union negotiator, have certainly been the most conciliatory, their messages directed mainly at the firefighters. Meanwhile, Mr Blair and Mr Brown have played the bad cops, sending out a message aimed mainly at reassuring Middle England and the City respectively that this was a different kind of Labour government.

The Tories and others have seized on the apparently conflicting signals coming out of Government as evidence of a lack of grip on the whole dispute.

But allies of Mr Prescott point out that his union experience has been invaluable. "He knows more than any other minister that it will only end through negotiation," one source said. The varied messages sent out by the Cabinet were "differences of tone and shading, not substance".

Prescott allies point out that the Prime Minister's most significant reply in his press conference yesterday came when he was asked if he agreed with his deputy's hint that some funds could be made available to councils as a stop-gap.

Mr Blair replied: "I don't think it is sensible for me to get into the absolute intricacies of the negotiation." Despite Downing Street's tough rhetoric, Mr Prescott will be working on exactly those intricacies to allow all sides to save face.