An angry exchange over literacy standards ended with the education secretary having to withdraw his "unparliamentary" language.

Challenged in the House of Commons over improvements in English test results, the Education Secretary David Blunkett lashed back irritably at the opposition by saying that their policy on literacy when in office had been "to do sod all".

Before the deputy speaker could intervene, Mr Blunkett withdrew his comments "as entirely unparliamentary - and I have corrected myself".

The exchange of words between Mr Blunkett and Conservative backbencher David Redinnick took place in an education question time in which the opposition had sought to score points over secondary school class sizes, red-tape and funding.

Heckling

In an earlier clash, the Mr Blunkett had taken a personal swipe at the Shadow Secretary Education Secretary, Theresa May, accusing her of "not being able to take it" when she was put under pressure.

Facing heckling from Labour MPs of "be gentle with her", Theresa May pressed the education secretary over the case of a head teacher who had decided to become a lorry driver to escape the red-tape in schools.

"Shouldn't the lorry be taking away the paperwork not the head teacher? And isn't it time the government got off the back of the schools, teachers and parents and set schools free to raise standards?" said Ms May.

Mr Blunkett struck back by saying that under the Conservatives' policy to cut out local education authorities, "all headteachers would have to become drivers because they would have had the school transport provided by their authority withdrawn".