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John Prescott
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Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott is "feeling absolutely fine" after being taken to hospital on Christmas Day, his spokeswoman said today.
Mr Prescott was taken to Castlehill hospital in Hull where he was treated for a kidney stone and returned home later in the day.
Mr Prescott said: "I'd like to thank the doctors, nurses and staff who looked after me on Christmas Day.
"They do such a brilliant job, 365 days a year, and it was a real pleasure to have my Christmas dinner amongst such dedicated people.
"What would we do without our wonderful NHS?"
Mr Prescott was at home in his East Hull constituency with wife Pauline and other family members when he fell ill.
It is another difficulty for Mr Prescott, 68, at the end of a challenging year.
He announced in September that he would quit as deputy leader next year, apologising to Labour activists for letting them down.
It followed revelations of an affair with his secretary Tracey Temple and a subsequent reshuffle that saw him stripped of his major Whitehall department.
"I know in the last year I let myself down, I let you down. So Conference, I just want to say sorry," he said at Labour's annual autumn gathering.
He was also embroiled in a controversy over his links to an American billionaire bidding to build a casino in the former Millennium Dome.
Mr Prescott is diabetic, but his spokeswoman said she was not aware if he had any previous problems with kidney stones.
Copyright Press Association 2006
