John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister, was accompanied by his mistress to a memorial service in honour those who died in Iraq and she also went to Westminster with his wife, it emerged tonight.

Tracey Temple, 43, the diary secretary with whom Mr Prescott has today admitted having a two-year affair, was pictured dressed in black leaving St Paul’s Cathedral in October 2003 as Mr Prescott walked behind Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie.

Mr Prescott, 67, and Tracey Temple, 43, began meeting in secret at his Whitehall flat following an office Christmas party in 2002 when they spent much of the night dancing together.

Admitting the affair, Mr Prescott said he hopes he and his wife can now get on with their lives.

"I did have a relationship with her which I regret. It ended some time ago. I have discussed this fully with my wife Pauline who is devastated by the news.

"I would be grateful if Pauline and I could now get on with our lives together."

Mr Prescott, a father-of-two, has been married for more than 44 years and stood by his wife when it emerged in 2003 that she had had a son who she gave up for adoption when she was an unmarried 17-year-old.

Downing Street today insisted that Tony Blair fully supported Mr Prescott and said the Deputy Prime Minister had not offered his resignation after the revelations in today’s Daily Mirror.

No 10 insisted that Mr Prescott’s affair was a private matter and he had he abused his position.

Mr Blair’s official spokesman said: "Since we have said this is a private matter, it would be entirely wrong for me to speak about this. Any discussion between the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister remains private.

"We do regard it as a private matter and therefore it entirely remains so."

When asked if Mr Prescott had now become a joke figure, Mr Blair’s spokesman replied: "What you don’t see is the vital role delivered by John Prescott in terms of co-ordinating Cabinet committees, in terms of driving forward the agenda under the Prime Minister.

"John Prescott delivers that role in a way that does deliver real benefits for the Government and real benefits for the people."

A fellow minister said of him: "John will be feeling he has let the side down, let the Labour Party down."

Outside the Deputy Prime Minister’s home in Hull today uniformed police were on guard, but there was no sign of Mr and Mrs Prescott.

Ms Temple had been appointed as Mr Prescott’s Assistant Private Secretary with special responsibility to organise his diary after a similar role with the former Northern Ireland Secretary, Mo Mowlam.

The divorcee lives in Bordon, Hampshire with Barrie Williams, a 46-year-old lorry driver who planned to marry her. Upon hearing the news he told the Daily Mirror:

"I feel sick. I can’t believe the woman I wanted to marry has slept with John Prescott.

"I’ve been betrayed by one of the most powerful men in the UK."

Civil service colleagues of Ms Temple have told how they were shocked by the way Mr Prescott flirted with her at work.

A colleague had seen the diary secretary "nuzzle" Mr Prescott in the neck in the lift and he was heard complimenting Ms Temple on her clothes in front of other ministers. The Deputy Prime Minister was said to be "livid" when people began gossiping round the office about an affair.

It was at this point, however, that the full blown affair began, with Ms Temple making regular visits to his flat in Admiralty Arch.

Mr Williams said Ms Temple asked him to marry her just two days after she first had first slept with Mr Prescott.

"I’m just so glad we hadn’t got round to tying the knot," he said.

He believes his fiancée's decision to rent a property in London two years ago was to enable the secret trysts to continue.

Mr Williams described to the Daily Mirror Ms Temple as insatiable, with a big sexual appetite, saying she was adventurous and flirtatious when she had been drinking.

He said he had no cause for concern, however, as she had been consistently loving and caring towards him.

His reasoning for the affair was that Ms Temple had been "caught up in a crazed power trip" he said, adding that he could not hate her.

The Deputy Prime Minister is no stranger to controversy. In 2001 he punched a egg-throwing protester in the face which was captured on live television. He has also been embroiled in controversies surrounding his cars.

He became a front-bench employment spokesman in the mid-1980s and then shadow transport secretary after the 1987 election.

In a further reshuffle he was awarded the employment portfolio and then appointed to the role of Deputy Prime Minister in 2001.

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