PM: Talking up Labour's healthcare plans

Tony Blair has outlined a range of measures designed to improve children's health.

Speaking at an election press conference in Birmingham on Tuesday, the prime minister called for the NHS to take on an expanded roll in preventing rather than curing illness.

He outlined a series of Labour policies to improve public health in a third term.

These include restrictions on junk food television advertising, improved school meals, and more time for school sport.

Focusing on the needs of young people, he emphasised that "it is parents', not government's, job to bring up children".

But he said ministers could do more to help parents make healthy choices for their kids.

Flanked by three women - culture secretary Tessa Jowell, children's minister Margaret Hodge, and public health minister Melanie Johnson - in a bid to appeal to "school gate mums" he argued that Labour was taking action to support parents, whereas with the Conservatives "you are on your own".

Jowell promised a "sporting meritocracy" in which young people would have the opportunity to take up any activity, despite their background.

Hodge said Labour is committed to acting on TV chef Jamie Oliver's campaign to improve the nutritional content of school meals.

Tory row

Blair promised "more investment and reform" in the NHS in a Labour third term, which he coupled with an attack on planned "Tory charges" through private sector subsidies.

"Mr Howard has made his policy bed and now he has to lie in it," he said.

However Michael Howard earlier rebuked Labour's claims that the Tories have a secret agenda of cuts, charges and privatisation for the NHS.

Following his signing of Blair's petition against NHS charges, Howard challenged the Labour leader to retract his claims.

"Mr Blair is now resorting to false claims about conservative plans for hospitals. He's put these false claims on his posters, on his campaign literature, and on his leaflets," Howard said.

"This morning I challenge Mr Blair to withdraw every poster, every leaflet and every piece of campaign literature, which has that second Labour lie on it.

"How can anyone trust Mr Blair when his campaign is based on these lies? It's time Mr Blair started telling the truth, had an honest debate about the real challenges facing our country."