'Prezza' The bridge joining old and New Labour

The first time I met John Prescott, we were in a helicopter flying over the Thames Gateway, where he and Tony Blair, the then prime minister, who was also aboard, were announcing a multimillion-pound regeneration plan.

- Pippa Crerar

It was August 2003 and I was a young pool reporter for the Press Association, there to ask the politicians about their plans on behalf of the rest of the media. The flight was noisy and we all wore ear protectors, so conversation was limited.

But as we flew over the Millennium Dome site, which lay empty as the government was struggling to sell it, "Prezza" tapped Blair on the arm and pointed out of the window at the huge structure below, a wide grin on his face.

Blair, perhaps unsurprisingly given the flak he had received for the £1m-a-month cost of maintaining the site, arched an eyebrow and smiled wanly at his deputy's effort to find some humour in the situation.

It was a momentary glimpse into their dynamic, but an insightful one. "To say we were partners would never capture the nature of our relationship. There was nothing formal about it," Blair said in his own tribute to Prescott after the announcement of his death yesterday.

"The truth is, for all the difficulties and the differences and the jokes about us both and our 'odd couple relationship', we had developed a genuine admiration, respect and affection for each other.