John Prescott in July this year.
Photograph: Bruno Vincent/Getty Images
When is an office not an office?
When the office belongs to John Prescott, that's when.
According to figures dug out by the Tories, the deputy prime minister spent £645 of taxpayers' money changing the sign outside his door after his job was downgraded in a reshuffle after his affair with his secretary.
The shiny new brass-plate replaced "Office of the Deputy Prime Minister" with "Deputy Prime Minister's Office".
A further £726 was spent on business cards for the new department.
There was a point to all of this, but you have to be fluent in Whitehall Mandarinese to get it.
Previously, Mr Prescott managed an entire department, taking in everything from homelessness, housing, regeneration, terrorist "resilience" to the fire brigade and ... er ... regional assemblies (remember them?).
Now he's been relieved off all those responsibilities, he only has an "office" office. Like the rest of us.
