David Blunkett's controversial comments about other Cabinet members were "arrogant", the deputy prime minister has said.

Speaking to the BBC on Monday, John Prescott criticised the home secretary's criticisms of senior ministers such as Jack Straw and Charles Clarke.

The foreign secretary was accused of leaving the Home Office in a mess, while the education secretary had gone "soft".

While other ministers had been attempting to play down reports of Cabinet anger over the comments, the deputy prime minister re-opened the wounds in comments set to provoke fresh headlines.

He said "personal arrogance" had caused many of the problems faced by Blunkett.

"I fundamentally disagree with his judgments on his Cabinet colleagues, but to be fair to David, he has apologised publicly and personally to his colleagues and was honest enough to confess to a certain amount of arrogance in his conclusions," Prescott told Radio 4's Today programme.

"So the whole issue of judgment on Cabinet colleagues, which the press have seized upon, has come about because of an element of personal arrogance and a very large amount of personal financial gain and book sales for the author."

The prime minister's official spokesman insisted that Blunkett should be judged on his record as home secretary.

"The home secretary has explained the circumstances of his comments and has apologised to his Cabinet colleagues," he said.

"We all from time to time have bad days and he has apologised," the spokesman added.

He refused to comment on when Sir Alan Budd would be publishing his report into allegations that a visa application by Blunkett's lover's nanny was fast-tracked.

"That's entirely a matter for Alan Budd," he said. "It will come out when it's ready to come out."

Blunkett praised

Speaking on Monday, the deputy prime minister added that he expected the home secretary to retain his position.

"He will stay and get on with the job. There's a lot to be done there - most of our programme is about crime etcetera and David Blunkett is in there battling," he said.

"Thank goodness we have got somebody tough enough to battle on."

There was also praise for Blunkett's straight-talking style. "He speaks straight, as I do. We both speak directly," added Prescott.