Prescott 'name calling' brushed off

The White House has brushed off reported comments by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott denouncing George Bush's attempts to pursue the Middle East road map as "c***".

Mr Prescott was also said to have dismissed the US President as "just a cowboy with his Stetson on" during a meeting earlier this week with Muslim MPs and other MPs representing large Muslim communities.

The Deputy Prime Minister issued a statement insisting the account of the meeting by Labour MP Harry Cohen was "inaccurate" and did not represent his views.

In Washington, White House press spokesman Tony Snow sought to make light of the latest controversy in which Mr Prescott has become embroiled.

"The President has been called a lot worse and I suspect will be. There will be piquant names hurled his way from time to but that is part of the burden of leadership," he told reporters.

However, he added pointedly: "The President talks regularly with Prime Minister Blair, who is the Prime Minister."

Mr Prescott, who has been under pressure since the disclosure of his affair with his diary secretary Tracey Temple, has been heavily criticised in recent days over his low profile role in the Government's response to the alleged airline bomb plot.