Britain under Labour is "the crime capital of the western world", Iain Duncan Smith has said.

Speaking in the Commons, the Conservative leader launched a scathing attack on Tony Blair's record on law and order.

Duncan Smith highlighted Home Office figures showing that Britons are more likely to become the victims of crime than their counterparts in any other country in Europe or North America.

Defending his record, the prime minister said that crime had fallen by a quarter over recent years.

Blair admitted that violent crime had risen, but said that had been part of a 20-year trend.

The Tory leader said the government's own figures now showed that there are move violent crimes in Britain than any other country in Europe.

"Isn't it a reality that under Labour Britain is now the crime capital of the western world?" he asked.

Blair responded that crime had doubled under the Conservatives.

"But it is true that we still have a lot more progress to make," he conceded.

He said the government was clamping down on crime and introducing tougher sentences for serious crime.

Blair added that the tough new measures were being opposed by the Conservatives.