Prescott discharged from hospital

Mr Prescott was taken ill on a train to London

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has been sent home from hospital after being treated for pneumonia.

Mr Prescott will be confined to his London apartment for recovery and will continue to be monitored by University College Hospital, London.

He thanked the medical staff who had cared for him and said people should be proud of the "magnificent NHS".

Mr Prescott, 69, was admitted to hospital on 2 June after being taken ill on a train between Hull and London.

High-dependency unit

Mr Prescott said: "I would like to personally thank all the doctors, nurses and support staff for their outstanding professional help and assistance.

"We should all be very proud of our magnificent NHS".

The deputy prime minister was moved to a high-dependency unit on Tuesday so he could be monitored more closely because of his age, and the fact he suffers from diabetes.

By Wednesday, his son David said he was sitting up in bed and joking with hospital staff.

He missed Thursday's Cabinet meeting, which he had been due to chair while Tony Blair was at the G8 summit in Germany, so Commons leader Jack Straw took his place.

Condition managed

Mr Prescott will continue to rest at his grace-and-favour home at Admiralty House, near Trafalgar Square, for an unspecified period of time.

In 2002, it was announced he had suffered from type two diabetes for a number of years, managing the condition with medication.

He was taken to hospital on Christmas Day 2006, when he was treated for kidney stones.

Mr Prescott is stepping down as Labour deputy leader and deputy prime minister on 27 June - the same time as Mr Blair.