The Conservatives' plans for tax and public spending are not credible, Tony Blair said on Friday.

Vowing to deliver a "top to bottom" overhaul of the health service he said that Tory plans would mean cuts to the NHS.

Following a morning that was dominated by the fall-out from row over the Tories tax pledges, the prime minister accused the Tories of lacking credibility.

"After yesterday the choice on the economy is clearer than ever before," Blair said. "Stability and credibility under Labour - or the Tories' incoherent and irresponsible plans that would take us back to boom and bust".

He claimed that the public sector would suffer under a government led by William Hague.

"On investment, we know now that the Tories meant what they said. They want less investment year on year. They will make deep cuts in key public services like schools, hospitals and police. As the Conservatives' manifesto continues to unravel, so too do the last vestiges of their economic credibility," said Blair.

He accused the Tories of reckless planning and claimed that Michael Portillo's plans amounted to sacking "a few civil servants and privatising Channel 4".

"Theirs is a manifesto without fiscal rules, a manifesto without a plan for economic stability and incredibly, a manifesto without an inflation target."

Blair summed up: "This is not a pathway to power but the fastest route back to boom and bust, high inflation, high interest rates and cuts to schools, hospitals and police."