London - Deputy prime minister John Prescott yesterday challenged Tony Blair's attack on Britain's change-resistant public sector culture, as he pointedly lavished praise on its historic contribution to "civilising this century".
Twenty-four hours after the prime minister complained about the scars on his back for trying to "get change in the public sector", his deputy retaliated by defending it from simplistic criticism.
Last night both sides were attempting to play down the incident, which appeared to exemplify the uneasy gulf between new Labour modernisers and the party's traditional core support.