JOHN PRESCOTT is facing questions from MPs about a free stay he made at the Colorado ranch of an American tycoon lobbying for a casino in Britain.

It emerged this weekend that Prescott, the deputy prime minister, stayed at the ranch of Philip Anschutz on a nine-day trip to America with his officials last summer.

Anschutz is the owner of Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), which took over the running of the Millennium Dome in 2004. The two men met when Anschutz was lobbying the government to allow a supercasino in the dome.

Prescott denied yesterday that there was any conflict of interest, saying they had not discussed government business. Instead, subjects included the abolition of slavery.

Hugo Swire, the shadow culture secretary, said the government must detail Prescott’s exact links to Anschutz and the nature of the talks. He said: “This is very compromising for Prescott.

“He was responsible for regeneration of the [Dome] site and presumably his views whether to allow a casino would carry some weight. It was a misjudgment to accept this hospitality.”

The deputy prime minister and a small number of aides stayed on Anschutz’s ranch near Denver. Prescott did not declare the hospitality in the MPs’ register of interests, but paid a fee to a July 7 charity.

Prescott visited Washington, Texas, Colorado, Denver and Los Angeles during his trip between July 17 and 26. His overnight stay with Anschutz was during a “day off”, according to his office.

In a statement issued yesterday, Prescott said: “My contact with Philip Anschutz relates solely to the Dome post-sale in terms of the regeneration of the area and Mr Anschutz’s interest in William Wilberforce, a former Hull MP and slavery abolitionist about whom Mr Anschutz is making a film, as I am personally involved in the 2007 abolition bicentenary.”

AEG wants to turn the dome — now officially called O2 — into an entertainment city with a 23,000-seat arena encircled by an indoor street lined with attractions. One of the proposed attractions is a casino, but AEG has not yet been granted approval by the government.

Prescott’s stay came at a key time in AEG’s lobbying of the government to get a casino licence.

In May a government advisory panel shortlisted eight possible sites for a supercasino, including the Dome. A spokesman for Prescott said he was not involved in this decision.

Details of the trip have emerged during a difficult period in Prescott’s career. He admitted in April that he had had an affair with one of his secretaries, Tracey Temple, 43.

In the cabinet reshuffle in May he lost control of his department. He then reluctantly gave up his grace-and-favour stately home, Dorneywood, after he was photographed in the grounds playing croquet with colleagues while supposedly running the country.

A spokesman for Prescott said there was no requirement to declare the stay as there was no benefit to the deputy prime minister. His permanent secretary had been informed of every element of the trip.

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