Prescott failed to list 'benefit' of flat

John Prescott is awaiting a mild rebuke from the MPs' disciplinary committee today after a complaint that he should have registered his tenancy of a union-owned flat.

The Standards and Privileges Committee is expected to ask the Deputy Prime Minister to list the flat in Clapham, south London, in the Register of Members' Interests.

Mr Prescott has paid rent to the Rail, Maritime and Transport union since 1970, but the Tories estimate that the £220 per month he pays is less than one-fifth of the £1,200 market rate. The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Elizabeth Filkin, is believed to have found the flat, now occupied by Mr Prescott's son, is a "benefit in kind".

Mr Prescott's Conservative shadow, Archie Norman, said last night that he was determined to pursue what he saw as a breach of the ministerial code. He said Mr Prescott should not take a benefit from a transport union while he was ultimately responsible for the Government's transport policy.