Former deputy prime minister John Prescott has died at the age of 86 following a battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

The Labour 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.