Earlier in the day Prime Minister Tony Blair had been confronted by an angry relative of a patient in a Birmingham hospital, and Home Secretary Jack Straw had been jeered at a conference of the Police Federation of England and Wales.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer and Labour's election campaign leader Gordon Brown stood by Prescott, though Blair thought an apology should have been made.

[1] The result of the election was seen as a foregone conclusion with Labour widely expected to retain their significant majority in the House of Commons.

There was low turnover in members of parliament and, Labour having dropped all-women shortlists, there was expected to be little change to the demographic make-up of the house (unlike 1997 which had seen a significant increase in the number of women elected).

[1] Blair went to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham where he was confronted by Sharron Storer, the partner of a cancer patient who was angry with the level of treatment he was receiving from the National Health Service (NHS).

[1][6] The home secretary, Jack Straw, travelled to Blackpool to address a conference of the Police Federation of England and Wales on the law and order pledges in the 2001 manifesto.

[7] During the same day William Hague, leader of the rival Conservative Party, was forced to abandon a planned walkabout in Wolverhampton on security advice, due to a rowdy demonstration.

[8] Prescott, unaware of the Blair and Straw incidents, travelled to Rhyl, North Wales, where he was to address a Labour Party election rally at the town's Little Theatre.

[1][8] Some 30 protesters picketed the venue, demonstrating against low agricultural wages and Labour's support for a fox hunting ban.

[1] As Prescott reached the footpath he had no direct police guard; his closest support was his special adviser Joan Hammell, Labour Party official Jessica Morden and assistant Beverley Priest.

[1][9] Prescott reacted with what The Independent's political journalist Colin Brown described as "an instinctive boxer's jab with the left fist" at Evans.

[8][9] Following the incident Evans was moved away by the police and Prescott walked into the venue, with the BBC describing him as appearing to be "clearly shaken" by the events.

He was also concerned that the video footage would not show the height advantage Evans had over him and that the reporting would portray Prescott as a "sixteen-stone bruiser".

Clive Wolfendale, an assistant chief constable of North Wales Police said "clearly if there are any allegations made against [Prescott] as a result of these incidents, we will investigate.

Campbell informed Blair once filming had finished and they travelled from the studio in the company of PR adviser Anji Hunter who worried that "middle-class England will not understand" the reason why Prescott punched Evans.

He was meeting with senior advisers including Douglas Alexander, Ian Austin, Lord Falconer, Lance Price, Philip Gould, key seats head Peter Hambly, polling head Greg Cook and Labour General Secretary Margaret McDonagh to discuss the next day's press conference.

Some in the senior leadership team considered that Prescott would have to resign as the party, whose manifesto pledged to deal with yobbish behaviour, would be viewed as hypocritical.

[1] The BBC News footage was later to appear but played a key part in helping the party leadership come to a decision on their response.

[1][11] The story led in most newspapers on 17 May 2001, relegating the Labour manifesto launch to the inside pages, with most of the coverage not negative in nature.

[6][11] This was a relief to Straw, who feared his reception at Blackpool would lead the news of the day but found it was eclipsed by the Rhyl and Birmingham hospital incidents.

[1] The Daily Mirror went with a single word headline "Manifisto", while The Sun christened Prescott "Two Jabs", an allusion to his nickname of "Two Jags", after his penchant for expensive official cars.

[5][2] The Times Guide to the House of Commons has called the incident "one of the ugliest, and in many ways, the most humorous, scuffles of modern electoral history".

Prescott had clashed with the movement before and at the 2000 Labour Party conference had said "every time I see the Countryside Alliance and their contorted faces, I vow to redouble my efforts to abolish fox-hunting".