Michael Howard has been criticised for declaring he had chosen Eton for his son because he did not have "confidence" in any state school in London.

Headteachers and opposition parties attacked his comments about state education, while independent schools revealed they would reject the party's plans to expand choice for parents.

The Independent Schools Council, which represents 90 per cent of private schools, said none of its secondary schools would take pupils under the Conservatives' voucher plans.

When quizzed as to why he opted for Eton for his son, Howard told reporters: "I believe in choice. At the time I had to make that kind of choice for my children, we were spending most of our time in London.

"If there had been a state school in London that I would have had the confidence in, that would have given the kind of education that I had at Llanelli Grammar School, I might have made a different choice. But I believe in choice and I exercised that choice on behalf of my children."

The Conservatives had been in power for 10 years when Howard's son went to Eton.

Barry Sheerman, Labour former chairman of the Commons education select committee in the last parliament, criticised Mr Howard's comments as a "dreadful slur" on state schools and an "indictment" of Tory policy.

The Tories are offering parents a passport or voucher - worth about £5,500 a year - to select the school of their choice for children.