For those of you not familiar with the incident, here's a brief summary:

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott arrived at a Labour Election rally in Rhyl, North Wales yesterday to find a small crowd protesting over fuel prices and Labour's stance on the countryside. One of the agitators, 29-year-old farmer Craig Evans, flung an egg from 'point blank range', which hit Mr Prescott on the side of the face. According to Evans' unamed girlfriend, Prescott immediately "grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and thumped him". She added that her lad was usually a very placid individual. The two then proceeded to wrestle each other down on to a low wall before being forcibly dragged apart.

Evans was led away in handcuffs and released on police bail shortly before 2am, while Mr Prescott was ushered away shaken, but unhurt. The Deputy PM then issued a brief statement saying: "I was attacked by an individual. In the melée that followed I clearly defended myself. I believe that someone is now being questioned by police and it would be quite improper and quite wrong to add any further comment."

Labour assured the country that John will continue on the campaign trail, and this morning have held a press conference, at which other ministers, including David Blunkett, appeared to find the incident every bit as amusing as the rest of the country. Early indications were that the entire party found it even more humorous than Mr Prescott's 1998 incident at the Brit Awards when a bucket of iced water was thrown over him.

A MORI poll today is expected to show a massive swing in the views of the voters towards Labour, as comments such as "British Bulldog Spirit", "Good honest Britsh punch-up", "He's got my vote" and "Fight! Fight!" echo around the country.

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