To the incredulity of most, the Daily Mirror broke the news that the deputy prime minister had conducted a two-year secret affair with his secretary.

Of the more stomachchurning revelations it was disclosed that Prescott, 67, and Tracy Temple, 43, had regularly romped in his office with the door open.

Temple’s disgruntled boyfriend contacted the Mirror newsdesk after coming to the incredible conclusion that he was being cuckolded by the then deputy PM.