Prescott battles for Labour stronghold

John Prescott will hit the campaign trail this week as Labour battles to head off a challenge in one of its London strongholds.

He will turn his fire on the Lib-Dems, who have surprised opponents by pouring activists and resources into the Parliamentary by-election contest in Brent East.

Labour admits that some voters are unhappy with the Government's record on public services. The Lib-Dems say their anti-war stance is winning support in an area with many Muslim residents.

The visit by the Deputy Prime Minister as he is heads the Government while Tony Blair is on holiday, signals that Labour is taking the challenge seriously.

A spokesman accused the Lib-Dems of being "disrespectful" by selecting their candidate, Sarah Teather, shortly before Labour MP Paul Daisley's death in June.

The Labour candidate, Euro-MP Robert Evans, opposed the war in Iraq. He will defend a Labour majority of 13,047 in the by-election either next month or in October.

For Labour to lose Brent East would be a huge blow to Mr Blair. Local Muslims have told Mr Evans of their concern about the decision to go to war in Iraq. Lib-Dem leader Charles Kennedy has been visiting the constituency, which covers Kilburn and Willesden.

A Lib-Dem strategist said: "We are the only party which could beat Labour. We believe we have a chance of winning."