PM behaving like pop star - Tories

The Conservative leader condemned Mr Blair for behaving like a pop star while crises piled up during the farewell tour of his final seven weeks in office.

The premier hit back by accusing Mr Cameron of "flailing around" to distract attention from Tory divisions, adding: "It's a little bit pathetic."

As he continued his final round of official visits by looking at hi-tech equipment at a north London hospital this morning, Mr Blair insisted there were significant issues which had to be dealt with by the Government before he leaves office on June 27.

But Mr Cameron said the extended hand-over period was "rapidly becoming absurd", arguing that Mr Blair's foreign visits were merely "indulging his vanity".

"In this country, we don't do 'farewell tours'," he said. "Tony Blair was elected to be the Prime Minister of our country, not a pop star."

Mr Cameron went on that the transition period was delaying much-needed action to tackle NHS problems that Labour's leader-elect, Gordon Brown, would inherit.

"When Gordon Brown does take over, there is one issue that's going to be right at the top of his in-tray - the NHS crisis that he himself helped create," Mr Cameron told a Westminster press conference.

But Mr Blair said was much left to do. On a visit to the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, he said: "There is a massive amount we are still doing. These are things I am right in the middle of...and I did not choose the date in an arbitrary way.

Mr Blair accused the Tory leader of trying to cover up tensions within his own party over grammar schools. "He's flailing around a bit because he has his own problems internally," he said. "It's a little bit pathetic."