"The former prime minister, who famously once promised to be tough on crime, criticised the Government's plans to cut prisoner numbers and scale back the DNA database.

"In an interview published in today's Daily Telegraph, Mr Blair said he powerfully disagrees with the liberal penal policies of Kenneth Clarke, the Justice Secretary.

"You've got to put in prison those who deserve to be there, he said, adding Britain should look to developing countries that just don't accept criminality. He said dysfunctional families who produced 14-year-old kids stabbing one another to death are making people's lives hell."

Read on...