John Prescott, Tony Blair's former deputy prime minister, has died at age 86

John Prescott, former deputy prime minister and right arm of Tony Blair with whom he helped transform the U.K. Labour Party, has died at 86, the family announced Thursday.

After hearing the news, Blair, who was Labor prime minister between 1997 and 2007, said he was "devastated," adding that Prescott, his deputy in that period, was "one of the most talented people" he knew in the political sphere. 

The Welsh politician's family had shortly before issued a statement expressing "the deep sadness we feel to report that our beloved husband, father and grandfather, John Prescott, passed away peacefully yesterday (Wednesday) at the age of 86."

A victim of several health problems in recent years, including Alzheimer's disease, he was placed in a nursing home in recent years.

Gordon Brown, who was Labour prime minister between 2007 and 2010, hailed the memory of a "colossus, a titan," while the current occupant of the office for the same party, Keir Starmer, described him as a "giant of the movement."

"He fought with all his might to negotiate the Kyoto Protocol and was an unwavering advocate for climate action over the following decades. I will be eternally grateful to John (...) and will miss this dear friend," reacted Al Gore, then vice president of the United States.

The Kyoto Protocol was an international agreement aimed at reducing emissions of six greenhouse gases (GHG).

A former trade unionist, "John spent his life trying to improve the lives of others, fighting for social justice and protecting the environment," his family said in the statement announcing the death.

John Prescott accepted a peerage in 2010, after serving as an MP for nearly four decades.

The former deputy prime minister stepped down from a seat in the House of Lords last July, shortly after Labour's Starmer's election win, due to his health problems.