Sri Lanka: Devastated by the Boxing Day tsunami

The prime minister has defended the government's response to the Asian tsunami disaster, pledging hundreds of millions of pounds to the stricken region.

Tony Blair rejected criticism of his failure to return from holiday, saying he "took the view that the important thing is to get the job done".

Speaking to the BBC, he said he had been in contact with world leaders to put in place long term measures to deal with the humanitarian disaster.

"I take the view that it is action not words," he said.

"Ministers have done a superb job but I can assure you that throughout the entirety of the time I have been intimately involved with all the decisions that have been taken."

He said the government would more than match the donations of the British public, which could now reach £100 million. "I think it is very important that we do this," Blair said.

The prime minister added it was likely that several hundred million pounds would eventually be spent by the government.

"So we will far and away more than match the generosity of the British people, though that has been remarkable," he said.

"I can assure you that when this is through and done with and we see over the coming weeks exactly what we need to contribute, it will be vastly in excess of what we are spending now."

Blair noted that while ministers had so far allocated £50 million, so far only six to seven million has been spent.

"Over the next few weeks I think it will become clearer... it will be easier to assess exactly how much money we need to put in," he added.

He also expressed concern that the focus on Asia could distract attention from Africa, but said recent events had shown the generosity of the public.

"I hope we now use, in a sense, that spirit of generosity in order to provide for us the moral backing for what we are trying to do in Africa."