British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott was plunged into fresh controversy after disclosing that he had seven meetings with a US gambling tycoon bidding to set up a super casino in London.
The revelation on Tuesday prompted the threat of an investigation by the parliamentary standards watchdog just weeks before Prescott takes over responsibility for running the country while Prime Minister Tony Blair goes on holiday.
Blair's office was forced to declare that Blair retained "full confidence" in his deputy.
The furore brok after Prescott wrote to the main opposition Conservatives to confirm that his meetings with Philip Anschutz took place over a three-year period, culminating in a visit to the tycoon's Colorado ranch last July.
But he strongly denied that they had discussed the sale of the Millennium Dome in Greenwich -- acquired by the Anschutz Entertainment Group in 2002 -- or the award of casino licenses.
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