LONDON — British politician John Prescott, a former merchant seaman who rose to the post of deputy prime minister, has died at age 86. Prescott’s family announced his death on Thursday. They said the politician, who had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, died peacefully in a care home on Wednesday with his loved ones around him.

Former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who served under Tony Blair and helped transform the country’s Labour Party, John Prescott is dead.

John Prescott, the former deputy prime minister, has died at the age of 86, his family has announced. The ex-trade union activist and Labour Party veteran died peacefully at his care home following a battle with Alzheimer’s, his wife Pauline and sons Johnathan and David said yesterday.