John Prescott has faced a barrage of questions over his role in 'supercasino' planning.

In his first appearance in the Commons since a series of allegations were raised about his meeting with US billionaire Philip Anschutz, Prescott put up a robust defence of his position during deputy prime minister's questions.

Prescott had visited a ranch owned by Anschutz, who owns the millennium dome - short-listed as a possible site of the country's first 'supercasino'.

Conservative MP Greg Hands asked the first question, saying: "Surely by giving such  privileged access to one of the bidders he has seriously compromised the whole bidding process for Britain's only regional casino?"

Prescott said Hands had been "reading too many press cuttings", and said he had not been involved with the sale of the dome.

He also defended the role of the independent commission which is making a decision on the location of the first 'supercasino'.

Following a series of questions from opposition MPs, he said: "I think members have to make a serious judgement when it comes to accusations of corruption.

"There is none here, and I think those charges should not be thrown around lightly in this house, although it's easily done in the press.

"I totally reject that and I hope people will take into account my contribution, whether they accept it or not, over the 35 years I've been here in parliament."

Commons speaker Michael Martin had to reprimand Prescott and opposition MPs for trading accusations.

The deputy prime minister accused the constituency party of Conservative MP James Duddridge of accepting money from a company that wanted to build a casino in Southend, and said he was a "busted flush".

Martin had to take advice from a clerk over what had been said, because he could not hear over the shouting in the chamber.

And Duddridge later strongly denied the claims, saying they were totally inaccurate.

Prescott brushed off Tory calls for him to resign, with shadow foreign secretary William Hague saying: "The idea that you can't have a department but can be left in charge of the country defies credibility."

The parliamentary commissioner for standards, Sir Philip Mawer, submitted his report on Prescott's stay with Anschutz to the Commons committee on standards and privileges earlier on Wednesday.

In response to a request from Tory MP Hugo Swire, Sir Philip has been investigating whether the visit represented a conflict of interest.