The government's asylum policy in tatters following the latest legal rulings, the Conservative leader has said.

His comments followed a Court of Appeal decision on Tuesday which rejected a government appeal against an earlier ruling.

The High Court overturned tough new rules denying benefits to asylum seekers who failed to apply for asylum immediately on arrival in the UK.

However the latest ruling means that there will be no need to radically change the operation of the tough new asylum policy.

Speaking in the Commons, Iain Duncan Smith rejected the prime minister's claims that the government had won on the legal principle.

"The prime minister is the only person who can claim defeat in the appeals court as a triumph," said the Conservative leader.

He said the government's policy was "in tatters" - having been overturned in the courts "almost on a weekly basis".

"Isn't it now true that under this prime minister we have become the asylum capital of the world?" asked Duncan Smith.

Tony Blair said the court supported the principle of the government's policy and had required only small changes to procedure.

The prime minister insisted he would stick to his pledge to slash the number of asylum seekers by September.