A TEACHERS' union leader today told the Prime Minister: "I'm proud to be a wrecker", as a campaign was launched against increasing private-sector involvement in local schools.

Simon Jones, divisional secretary with the National Union of Teachers in Blackburn with Darwen, slammed Tony Blair and Transport and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers after they both claimed union activists who opposed privatisation were 'wreckers'.

Mr Jones was backing a move by the Lancashire NUT to lobby local MPs on the issue.

However, education bosses today said the private sector was already heavily involved in schools.

And Coun Mahfooz Hussain, executive member for Education and Lifelong Learning at Blackburn with Darwen Council, claimed the main thing was that teachers and pupils benefited.

Mr Blair and Mr Byers told union leaders that they were either reformers or wreckers as the Government sought to increase privatisation in the public services. But Mr Jones said: "I am proud to be a wrecker in defence of public education.

"Such intolerant insults only undermine rational debate on the reform and improvement of public services."

Ken Cridland, Lancashire secretary of the NUT, added: "We object to the suggestion we are wreckers just because we have principles which we stick to.

"Instead, we would question those who let their principles blow in the wind."

Coun Hussain said: "Blackburn with Darwen Council has an excellent working relationship with the private sector across all areas including education.

"For example, the Education Action Zone has brought in an extra £5million of funding and services to help raise standards in schools. Blackburn Rovers FC is one of our private-sector partners and children from our schools have been benefiting from extra lessons at the Rovers IT Centre and other initiatives for many years.

"The issue is not really of who provides the service, but whether we provide a quality service that benefits our young people and teachers."

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: "As a local education authority our over-riding aim is to improve educational standards."