Politicians from across Scotland and the UK have paid tribute to the late Labour leader John Smith.

Ten years after his death, John Prescott led tributes to the "greatest prime minister Britain never had".

Speaking on Saturday ahead of a service in Iona on Sunday, the deputy prime minister said: "He was a wonderful man and a man I had great personal admiration for.

"He was a man who was a lost opportunity for us, frankly, and I think 10 years on it’s time to just go and pay respects to John.

"He didn't do everything he could have done for us but he left us a wonderful memory - a man committed to making the world a lot better than it is.

"When you think about John Smith you always do it with a smile, he had a great sense of humour.

"When I’ve gone I’d like to think people could think of me with a bit of a smile.

"So when I stand there tomorrow I will do it with a smile because that was John Smith."

McConnell tribute

Meanwhile Scotland's first minister Jack McConnell said: "John Smith’s memory will always have a special place in the heart of the Scottish Labour Party and of many people across Scotland.

"And this weekend we do think of those memories, of someone who was great fun to be with, but also an inspiration to people at that time, like me, who were much younger than him but looked to him for a belief that a Scottish parliament could make a difference."

John Smith, who represented the seat of Monklands East, died of a heart attack in May 1994.

He was survived by his wife, who went on to become Baroness Smith, and his three daughters.