Tony Blair came to the defence of left-wing MP Diane Abbott today by insisting it was "for each individual parent" to decide where to school their child.

Ms Abbott provoked fury with her decision to send her son James, 12, to the £10,000-a-year City of London School rather than to a state school in her Hackney constituency.

She had previously criticised fellow London Labour MP Harriet Harman for sending her son to a selective grammar school.

At question time the Prime Minister told the Commons he did not believe it was a good idea to personalise the education debate around a particular MP.

He added: "It is for each individual parent to make up their own mind as to how they educate their children."

Tory Richard Ottaway challenged the Prime Minister: "People might have more trust in your Government if your fellow MPs practised what they preach.

"If you lived in Hackney, would you send your children to the local schools?"

Mr Blair replied: "It's for individual people to decide whether they wish to send their children to a private school or a state school."

He went on: "The most important thing for Government is to make a significant investment in the education service of this country that will be used by the vast majority of parents."

There had been a "massive increase" in the amount of money going to local education authorities.

"A massive amount of the extra investment going into schools - more teachers, more classroom assistants," he said.

"That is the real commitment to state education and every single bit of it opposed by the Tories."

But fellow Tory Philip Hammond pressed Mr Blair further. "If you refuse to answer the question in terms of your own children, will you tell us what advice you would give to parents in Hackney who have deep misgivings about the quality of their local state schools?" he asked.

Mr Blair replied: "It is for each individual parent to make up their own mind as to how they educate their children.

"I don't actually think it is a very good idea if we end up with the whole of the debate being personalised around one MP or another."

The Prime Minister told MPs there was already one City Academy in Hackney and that the LEA wished to open others there.

The fastest improving school in the country was also in the public sector in Tower Hamlets.

"The real issue is not what comments we can make about this or that MP's children, the real issue is what is our commitment to state education in this country when we know for years, under the previous government, state education did not have the investment that it needed," Mr Blair said.

"The truth is that over the past few years, as you know, indeed in your own constituency, we've been putting extra investment into the schools and you should have the honesty to tell your constituents that you have been opposing every penny piece of that investment."