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DERMOT MURNAGHAN: Well the Leveson Inquiry has been an uncomfortable experience for many of those involved but the appearances this week of Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks could make it an extremely embarrassing week for the Prime Minister. Well one man who will be watching proceedings closely is the former Deputy Prime Minister and phone hacking victim of course himself, Lord Prescott, he joins me now from Hull, a very good morning to you Lord Prescott. So no doubt as I say you’ll be watching the Leveson Inquiry proceedings very closely when those former News International executives appear before it but of course it is a trail that was originally blazed successfully, those relations, by New Labour.

LORD PRESCOTT: Good morning. Yes, all the political parties, or say governments, have felt the influence of Murdoch. I spent some time arguing with Brown and Blair about the extraordinary influence of Murdoch and Rebekah Wade-Woods (sic) who is to give her statement but I don't think they were into dozens of texts a day which apparently is now being said between Rebekah Wade and Mr Cameron and I wrote to the Prime Minister, when he was Leader of the Opposition, saying do not appoint Coulson – he had already appointed him – do not because when you come into government and you make him your Director of Communications, given the background and what evidence we have that would just be wrong. He didn’t reply and now he is living with the consequences and Leveson will bring out the true story of it.

DM: Do you think it’s having – let’s knock it on into the political debate, do you think it is having a political effect and it is part of that narrative, to borrow that much used word from the Leveson Inquiry, part of that narrative about the Conservatives, as you see it, governing for a narrow clique of their mates and cronies?

LP: Yes, I think Leveson is doing a great job but don’t forget, he has been attacked, Mr Gove himself who worked for the Times and is now the Education Minister, is actually saying that Leveson is a threat to democracy. It is the very opposite, he is exposing these very dark areas where all this influence and decisions were taken and what I do get a little niggled about, I have been giving evidence, we’re into the stage of the relations between the press and indeed the politicians, I’ve been told now if I was to continue being one of those involved I would have to pay £10,000. I wonder whether these government ministers now who are going to now apply most unusually to appear before the inquiry, will they be paying their bill or will it be the taxpayer?

DM: A very interesting point, we shall find out but do you feel that issues like that and so many others are feeding into those Labour election successes? That the Labour message is now getting heard?

LP: I think so, yes. I think we did well but not well enough. I mean we are very pleased to get back to some of our old grounds where people did trust us and I think Ed was right, we can learn from this. Of course there is still a lot more to do but we’re glad we’re back in the north, the south, Scotland and Wales, that’s what a national party has to be but you know, we’ve got another round of elections coming up now. There would have been the Mayors but they’ve been rejected and I thought it was a stupid idea, the election of Mayors anyway, I’ve always opposed it even in a Labour government and now there will be an election for the Police Crime Commissioners, that’s taking place in November. If you think you’ve got a low turnout in these local elections, as clearly there was, there’ll certainly be a lower turnout I think in November because they’ve decided to hold these elections in November. They’ve not thought it through, they are almost in complete denial of all the policies they’ve got whether it’s the economy, as Mr Osborne and indeed listening to the Business Secretary now, that’s the real problem, they don’t think they’re on the wrong track, it’s business as usual but the public don’t believe them any more. They are just promises, they are not delivered and I think that’s had an effect on this election.

DM: So do you think it is an opportunity for Labour to have a more strident message on the core issue of the economy, we all agree on that, but to have a more strident message about a different strategy because Labour is at the moment still an austerity party, it’s just saying a little bit slower?

LP: Well I mean that’s quite right, I think Ed Balls has been right about this, has been proven to be right. He basically said that he recognises that we have to deal with this debt problem which has largely come from abroad and bankers, everybody accepts that, but we still have to deal with it and Ed’s proposals and the Labour party’s proposals took along that and said look, if you actually have so much austerity you won’t get the growth. Everybody is talking about growth now, there is an election in France about that, so the Labour party needs to just finesse what it is saying but it has got central strategy right, dealing with the global economic problem and Britain’s relationship to it. What the government seems to be doing is, well there’s no change, no denial about they’ve got it wrong, I’ve just listened to Mr Osborne this morning saying steady as she goes, we’ll keep on path. Well you can’t unless you want to throw more people out on the dole, cut more and more into the public services. It’s about a balance and I think Ed has been arguing for Labour, the balance has to be different because you need economic growth and I see every other country in Europe, particularly in the Eurozone, is now suggesting that’s the priority so Ed was right.

DM: You’re mentioning that but we look at France, we look in particular at Greece, I mean they are being very bold there, the opposition parties. They aren’t just saying a little bit slower, too far too fast, they are saying tax the rich at 75%. Isn’t it time now for Labour to be bolder and tell us would you bring back the 50p rate, would you get rid of the granny tax, would you get rid of the caravan tax and the pasty tax?

LP: Well I know you’re obsessed about those … those are things we can point out as an opposition but you know, at the end of the day we’ve got to get a balance in this. Ed’s proposals are about that balance, now let’s wait and see how far in France, whoever’s elected will go on that growth strategy but if you look at all the other countries where governments are getting thrown out because they only talk about austerity, it is almost going back to the 1930s and the Gold Standard, this is the only way forward, well I’m afraid it isn’t and the pain is being carried by the ordinary people in the streets and they are not prepared to tolerate it so I believe that growth is going to come along, after all the Governor of the Bank of England has now admitted he was wrong in the strategy he was advocating so it looks as if change is in the air and it will be nearer to Ed Balls position than the one of Osborne.

DM: Is class an issue again in British politics? A lot of the Labour critique of the government is that the posh boys are getting it from their own side as well.

LP: Oh it’s always an issue. I’ve done a few things about class, they say I’m a class warrior but of course class is an issue in British politics. When you still get 7% of the population actually sending their kids to private school and then getting 60% of the best places in the universities, getting the best and top jobs in the banks and insurance, that’s class. Who are the people who are carrying the real burden? The ones that pay the tax and for this government to come along and say what we’re going to do is reduce the burden on the millionaires and increase it on individuals, that’s a class issue and that’s how the public see it.

DM: Lastly, Lord Prescott, can I just as you about Mr Blair who has been hinting that he might be interested in some kind of role back in Britain again. Would you like to see him back in some way, shape or form doing …?

LP: I’ve got a great deal of respect for Tony Blair, I only read in the press that they’re saying that but an awful lot of things said in the press about Tony Blair have never been true so I treat that with a bit of caution but he has a contribution to make, there were three Labour governments, we did have a prosperity we haven’t seen in this country for decades, he has certainly got a contribution to make and I would certainly welcome that but I’m sure Tony will tread very cautiously in the area and will be very supportive of Ed and the Labour party.

DM: Okay, Lord Prescott, thank you very much indeed.

LP: Thank you.