Friends of the Deputy Prime Minister said that he would be pushed into resignation if Tracey Temple’s disclosures heaped further humiliation on him and embarrassed the Labour Party. Despite a plea to Mr Prescott from his wife Pauline to stay on, the friends said that new revelations were likely to be devastating if a newspaper was prepared to pay a six-figure fee for them. There were concerns that Ms Temple might reveal Mr Prescott’s private views on his fellow ministers including Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

It also emerged yesterday that Ms Temple, who allegedly kept detailed diaries, had hired Max Clifford, the agent who specialises in kiss-and-tell newspaper exposés. All eyes will be on The Mail on Sunday, which was said to have concluded the deal.

With the Deputy Prime Minister and Downing Street preparing for the worst, one of Mr Prescott’s closest friends told The Times last night: “Telling Pauline about the affair was the hardest thing that he has ever done. He is a big mate of mine but he has let her down and their two sons . . . She has been humiliated and John feels her pain.” The friend added: “Despite all that, Pauline does not want John to give up everything they have worked for over some fling, but wants him to go after he has helped to facilitiate the handover of power from Blair to Gordon Brown.”

The fighting talk of Mrs Prescott, 66, is in stark contrast to the stance that she adopted before the last election. The Times has learnt that she wanted her husband of 44 years to stand down on health grounds, but only relented after a direct appeal from the Prime Minister.

Another friend told The Times: “John Prescott is a loyalist and Tony Blair regards him as a partner. So John said, ‘If you want me to stay, I will stay’. Tony talked him out of standing down.” Mrs Prescott went along with the plan provided that he agreed to retire at the next election.

Mr Blair has had two private conversations with Mr Prescott this week, the first on Tuesday night when he was told that his affair with Ms Temple would be revealed by the Daily Mirror, and another on Thursday.

Mr Blair has satisfied himself that Mr Prescott has broken no ministerial rules that would require his departure from office. His resignation has neither been sought, nor offered.

But Mr Prescott has told his close friends that he would quit if he felt that his continued presence in government was damaging Mr Blair or the party.

A long-standing ally said: “John is a proud man. He knows that these pictures of him, a 67-year-old, with this woman all over him have made him look ludicrous. He feels terrible about what it has done to Pauline. He fears that he looks like a silly old fool.”

Mr Prescott was driven to Hull on Tuesday after telling the Prime Minister. It was only when he was behind the closed doors of their turreted home in the constituency that he has represented since 1970 that he confessed to the affair.

The Mirror telephoned Mr Prescott’s office on Monday with allegations of the relationship, which were denied. When the Mirror spoke again to Mr Prescott’s office on Tuesday the paper’s executives were taken aback when he confessed to it all. After telling his wife of the impending revelations, their two sons Jonathan and David were telephoned. The friend said: “The boys love their Dad but they are angry with him and feel let down because they have seen the hurt it has caused their mother. John knows he has let down a lot of people, not least Pauline.”

Mr Prescott has taken advice from friends such as Rosie Winterton, the Health Minister; Peter Snape, a former Labour MP; Alan Meale, the MP for Mansfield; and Richard Caborn, the Sports Minister.

Some of his friends fear that Ms Temple was in league with her ex-boyfriend, Barrie Williams, who sold his story to the Daily Mirror for £20,000.

Photographers outside the family home yesterday took delight in snapping the latest arrival: a porcelain lavatory. It arrived as neighbours received in their letterboxes an election leaflet showing Mrs Prescott with a supportive hand on her husband’s shoulder under the heading “Home pride”.

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