Eric Pickles apologises for John Prescott bulimia joke

A Tory frontbencher was forced to apologise today after expressing pride that he might have contributed to John Prescott’s bulimia.

Shadow local government secretary Eric Pickles admitted he had been “silly” to mock the former Deputy Prime Minister’s condition at a party fringe event last night.

Mr Pickles told the audience in Birmingham that he could sometimes be a “complete b**tard” to political opponents.

“When old Prescott came out as bulimic I thought, ‘I wonder if I’ve added to that’,” he said.

“I thought for a while, and I thought: ‘Good’.”

The joke was greeted with laughter at the meeting last night. [Press Association]